Stone related books for Christmas

Stone related books make great presents for your stone mad friends. Here are a few stone related books I recommend checking out if you are looking for some great christmas presents. Just remember if you're planning on ordering your books online, get ordering soon to be sure you receive them before Christmas.
Most of the links provided have free worldwide shipping. Some of the books need to be ordered from the artist's direct but I have added these links also. The prices I have shown are correct as of time of writing this post.
So in no particular order here are my recommendations for Christmas 2016:

A Legacy in Stone… The Artistry of Andreas Kunert

Andreas Kunert is a stone artist based in Victoria, Canada. He has a substantial and impressive portfolio of work. Much of his work has gone completely viral on the internet, popping up all over the place.

This book is a lovely catalogue of much of his work and a great addition to your bookshelf. 

Order this book here through the artists website 

http://www.ancientartofstone.com/a-legacy-in-stone-the-artistry-of-andreas-kunert/ 

Price $45.00 plus P&P

The Andy Goldsworthy Project

Andy Goldsworthy's beautiful ephemeral artworks have been rendered timeless in numerous photographic records. This book deals with Goldsworthy's work in nearly twenty years, and underscores the artists permanent output since 1984.

Many of his great stone creations are in this book.

A lovely chunky coffee table book. 

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €33.44 (including shipping and 20% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/qakfyka

Andy Goldsworthy : Enclosure

Reflecting Goldsworthy's lifelong interest in the landscape of the British Isles, its history, and the people who work on it, Enclosure is a collection of ephemeral work that relates to sheep, including many of his dry stone enclosures.

A lovely chunky coffee table book. 

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €33.99 (including shipping and 43% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/jt38a4u

Stone by Design: The Artistry of Lew French

More than 125 gorgeous photographs showcase the beauty of award-winning stonemason Lew French's work in eight different homes, illustrating how rounded fieldstone, gray slate, rough granite, and even curvy driftwood can be incorporated into stunning pieces of functional art. 

I did a blog post on his work a while back which you can read here.

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €29.37 (including shipping via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/n3r8cch

Lew French's new book
Released just this summer, this second book on Lew French's most recent designs includes works like the huge outdoor water feature at an office building near Boston. A residential landscape on Chappaquiddick, as well as his own retreat home in the mountains of Brazil. Also featured are his framed art pieces, puzzled together from rock and driftwood

 Fans of natural building and all kinds of masonry will be more than impressed. 

I did a blog post on his work a while back which you can read here.

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €24.90 (including shipping and 11% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/j6hll2h

Dan Snow: Listening to Stone

Listening to Stone is Dan Snows follow up to his first book  In the Company of Stone. In this second book Dan once again proves that he is not just one of America's premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Peter Mauss's tactile photographs of Snow's artistry are matched by the artisan's quietly compelling prose.

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €18.97 (including shipping and 11% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/o9ztlq7

The Complete Pebble Mosaic Handbook

Maggy Howarth is one of the world's foremost pebble mosaic experts, known for the innovative traditional and contemporary designs she has used to create outdoor mosaics around the world.

This new edition is updated, revised and expanded by 32 pages to incorporate many new inspirational designs from the author's studio, Cobblestone Designs, including an experiment in 3-D, spirals and roundels, and large mosaic designs for community spaces. There is also a special section that explores pebble mosaics as a decorative art throughout history.

The book provides practical step-by-step instructions for creating mosaics using traditional and modern materials, tools and techniques. The 400 beautiful color photographs and illustrations offer inspiration and make this a stunning how-to book and wish-book.

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €31.39 (including shipping and 6% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/hv8kg29

Corbelled Domes

Corbelled domed structures are both fascinating and ancient in technique. The process of corbeling has remained unchanged for thousands of years. The proof of this is that many of these ancient structures still stand today, a testament to their solid construction method. Renate Lobbecke has been tracking down such structures for over 25 years. On her travels in 15 countries she has captured photographs depicting this unique phenomenon of designed nature."

Definitely recommend this one. You can find it in the link below with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €45.03 (including shipping and 6% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/mdt57ag

Stone : A Legacy and Inspiration for Art

Stone: A Legacy and Inspiration for Art is a beautiful, visually stimulating book, exploring the delights of contemporary stone sculpture and stone carving. Stone is a major resource and inspiration for artists, craft-workers, and scholars in many areas, and also has huge attraction for a wider public, given its high visual impact, dramatic footage and timely re-evaluation of often hidden professions. Stone offers an introduction to the traditional techniques of stone carving and reviews methods of extraction that are dying out. The authors traveled worldwide learning, interviewing and photographing these unique processes. The photographs in this book show the stunning results. The book then goes on to look at the work of crafts people today in contemporary stone sculpture.

Click on the link below to buy with free worldwide shipping.

Price: €25.40 (including shipping and 13% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/hrue564

The Art of Letter Carving in Stone

"The Art of Letter Carving in Stone" portrays the beauty of this age-old craft alongside practical instruction. Written by an eminent practitioner and teacher, it guides the novice through the basics of letter carving, drawn lettering and making simple designs, and for the more experienced it explains a new proportioning system for classical Roman capitals and demonstrates a useful approach to designing letterform variations.
A great book for those who carve stone or wish to begin carving.

Click on the link below to buy with free shipping.

Price: €21.65 (including shipping and 31% off via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/j23gong

Irish Stone Walls: History, Building, Conservation by Pat McAfee

A unique history and 'how to' book on one of Ireland's most distinctive landscape features - the stone wall. The Irish countryside is a patchwork of over 250,000 miles of stone wall.

A great little book on Irish stone walls. By the great Irish waller Pat McAfee.

The Book depository have a great 18% off deal on this book at the moment so its just over €14 with free worldwide shipping. See link below

http://tinyurl.com/qy2l4hv

Dry Stone Walling. A Practical Guide

Dry Stone Walling. A Practical Guide

by Alan Brooks and Sean Adcock

159 pages 

A4 paperback, wiro-bound 

391 illustrations, by Linda Francis and Elizabeth Agate

 Dry stone walling is one of the most ancient building techniques, used worldwide where stone outcrops at the earth's surface. Britain's varied geology has produced a wide range of building styles, which demonstrate the waller's skill in making the best use of the locally available stone.

Price: £12.95 plus P&P via the link below

http://tinyurl.com/j644xkz

How to Build Dry-Stacked Stone Walls : Design and Build Walls, Bridges and Follies Without Mortar

Author John Shaw-Rimmington explains how to build a dry stacked stone wall, coursed walling, bridges, follies and more. He explains the important principles that contribute to the structural integrity of each. He covers all of the essential elements of dry stone building: * Design; * The foundation; * Packing or backfilling within the wall; * Slope of a wall face, an 'A' profile provides stability; * Bridge stones that span the width of the wall; * Coping, the top stones of a wall; * Weight-bearing stones in an arch, bridge, dome, etc. Shaw-Rimmington then guides the reader through the building process. With dedication to the task and the author's experienced guidance, the only limit is imagination. Click on the link below to buy with free shipping.

Price: €18.86 (including shipping and 23% off via the link below) http://tinyurl.com/hs8cdfa

The Art of the Stonemason

A fifth-generation stonemason discusses how to choose stone, build a wall on sloping ground, circular walls, windowsills, fireplaces, stairs, arches and hunchbacked bridges. 

A great practical guide to building stone features for anyone with some experience in stone building.

Click on the link below to buy with free shipping.

Price: €20.14 (including shipping via the link below)

http://tinyurl.com/lxnyfhf

Europe’s field boundaries

Written in two volumes 

Georg Muller has written a most wonderful book called 'Europe's Field Boundaries in 2 volumes. Georg basically spent the last 30 years traveling around Europe surveying dry stone walls, hedged banks etc in most European countries (Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Greece etc etc)

The books have almost 1300 pages and 5000 colour images. 

The books are beautifully bound with gold leaf and are a very special collection indeed, they are a real investment and highly recommendable. 

Information on how to order the books in the link below

Price for the two volumes together is €289 plus P&P

http://www.wallhecke.de/

This is just a few of the great stone related books that are out there. I have lots more book recommendations in the book recommendations section of my blog here. 

The Timekeeper

Earlier in the year I was commissioned under the Per Cent for Art scheme to create a sculpture for a secondary school in Drogheda Co. Louth. 

The brief was to create a piece to commemorate the transition of the school from its humble beginnings into the new extensive extension, the sculpture is based on the subject of the movement of  time. 

Our history traced through stone.

The permanence of stone means that much of what we know about our past has been discovered through examining the stone structures left behind by our ancestors, from structures and sites of worship to the dry stone walls that map out the history of the vernacular landscape of our countryside.  In the Drogheda area alone, more than 5000 years of history can be read through the many stone structures  that cover the landscape here, spanning from the Neolithic site of  Newgrange to the Norman beginnings of the town itself.  This Norman heritage is evident  in the earliest monument in the town which is the motte-and-bailey castle, now known as Millmount Fort.

Karl sits in the timekeeper's seat

'The Timekeeper'  sculpture pays tribute to this movement of time, recorded through stone.

From a distance the large vertical blocks of sandstone  take  on the appearance of a Neolithic structure. As you approach, the sundial element of the sculpture becomes apparent.

The large angled stone in the centre (gnomon) is angled parallel to the earth's axis, paying tribute to the first gnomon style sundials invented in the late 1300's. The bars of engineered limestone in the floor along with the relief carvings of cogs and wheels in the standing stones represent modern time.  

The precision of the limestone markers highlights the slight fluctuation in the accuracy of the shadows cast by the Neolithic gnomon as the seasons change. This in turn highlights the contrast between the rudimentary time mapping of the neoliths with the sophisticated precision of modern engineered time.

The stone seating area in the courtyard between the old and new buildings is an extension of the sculpture, with the time capsule placed  under the stone mosaic in the floor, a symbol of the school's confidence in its future.

The time capsule being placed under one of Sunny's mosaics 

The stone for this project is sandstone and comes from Drimkeelan quarry in County Donegal.  Drimkeelan quarry is one of the oldest working quarries in the country. The Abbey of Assaroe was built in 1180 using this stone, so it is known that quarrying started around this time. A carved sandstone lamp found in the mines of the quarry suggests mining could have already started in the middle ages, by Cistercian monks who had abbeys to build.

Shopping for gnomons with quarry owner Brian Kerrigan at Drimkeelan quarry 

Inside the sandstone mines of Drimkeelan during the Tír Ċonaill Stone Festival  in 2013. Read more about this here

The quarry also supplied stone for famous buildings such as The National Museum of Ireland, Leinster house(The Dail) and Stormont in Northern Ireland .

The piece of white quartzite built into the base of the gnomon links back to the white quartzite facade of the nearby prehistoric site of Newgrange.  

How Sundials Work.

Sundials indicate the time by casting a shadow or throwing light onto a surface known as a dial face or dial plate.

The time is indicated where a shadow falls on the dial face, which is usually inscribed with hour lines.

The entire object that casts a shadow or light onto the dial face is known as the sundial's gnomon.

The gnomon is set parallel to the earth's axis. This angle is horizontal at the equator and increases to vertical (90⁰) at the poles. The angle of the earth's axis is dependent on your location and can be found by checking the latitude on your GPS coordinates. The latitude of Drogheda is 53.717856⁰.

As well as being parallel to the earth's axis, the gnomon also points to the pole (in this case the North Pole.) North, South, East and West are marked on the sculpture on the back of the standing stones and behind the seat stone.

The Sun is highest in the sky at midday and casts a short shadow. In the afternoon, when the Sun is lower in the sky, the shadow is longer.

The length of the shadow is also affected by the seasons. Winter shadows are longer than Summer shadows. This is because the Sun is lower in the sky in Winter.

The speed of the shadow depends on the length of the gnomon. This gnomon, being almost 2 metres tall, means that the tip of the shadow will move about a third of its height (60cm) in an hour - 1cm per minute. This movement is due to the Earth's rotation.

Building the sculpture

Like may stonemason's I usually work alone, however with large projects like this I am lucky to have a great group of friends from the DSWAI who I can call on.

Scaled model 

Ken Curran splitting stone for the gnomon using plugs and feathers 

Sunny places the gnomon 

Ken begins work in the first relief carving

Ken and Sunny work on the carvings

One of Sunny's carvings nearing completion

One of standing stones carved by Ken

Alex Panteleyenko works on cutting the letters for the time capsule seating area as well as the numbers for the sundial

Time capsule seating area under construction 

The dry laid pitched stonework was a very slow process with about 60m2 to be laid in total. Fortunately I had Karl Kennedy and Mark Gregan with me for this stage of the build.

The majority of the stonework was laid in a radial orientation from the gnomon apart from one segment that connects the timekeeper's seat to the gnomon. 

Karl and Nick work in the shadow of the gnomon

Scottish master craftsman Nick Aitken also stopped by for a few days to pitch in while over visiting for one of our trips to work on The Gathering of Stones monument which a number of us are involved in.  

As is often the case when building something unique, this project ended up taking longer than expected, so the pressure was on to get it completed on time. It was a little surreal at times to be building a giant clock when you're under pressure to finish a job.  

Thanks again to the great group of guys who helped me realise this project. It is great to see the praise it is getting, and the process of its construction will hopefully give some of the students in the school an appreciation for the craft and for the work involved in applying those skills.   

Can tradespeople be artists? Lets ask Johnny Clasper.

Stone mosaic by Johnny Clasper

Can tradespeople be artists?
An interesting question which is being explored by a new Irish series on TG4 at the moment called 'Dullamullóg'

Launched last Sunday 13th January, the show follows six tradespeople who take on the challenge of creating a piece of critically acclaimed art.

Each tradesperson is paired up with a professional artist who helps them with their work. The final piece is then put in amongst professional art works which are all scrutinised by art critic Ciaran Bennett who then has to decide which piece is made by the tradesperson.

Art Critic Ciaran Bennet

The show features renowned Irish artists Cliodna Cussen, Peadar Lamb and Turner nominated Liam de Frinse. The first episode follows Eamonn O'Neill, a Tree Surgeon from Shankill, Co. Dublin paired with professional sculptor Séighean Ó'Draoi.

Episode two pairs plasterer and bricky Gearóid Ó Ceannabhái, from Dublin, with the great Irish stone sculptor Cliodna Cussen.

Bricky Gearoid on the show.

An interesting show, worth checking out. Screens at 8.30pm on TG4. Repeated the following Tuesday at 11.30pm. The series will run for six weeks. Can also be played back on the TG4 website watch it here.
I will look forward to seeing the next episode. 


This show reminded me of a great tradesperson cum stone artist that I have been meaning to highlight for a while now.
This person being Johnny Clasper.

Artist Johnny Clasper sitting on front of one of his flowing stonework art pieces.

Before becoming obsessed with stone, Johnny started off as a bricky. In fact from an early age his weekends were spent working with his father (a builder) as a labourer on building sites. Johnny quickly got promoted from broom and wheelbarrow to trowel and hammer. Johnny said that something happened when he was handed that rusty old trowel and heavy split handled lump hammer in his hands, a magic feeling inside. "With these tools I can build (a feeling I still get today when I pick up certain tools). A short while after I saved up and bought myself some decent tools. I was one proud 16 year old lad!"

Detail from another stone mosaic by Jonny Clasper

A fast learner and keen to learn anything he could, Johnny put himself into college to study brickwork "At last something I really wanted to learn and really enjoyed doing".
Johnny became top of the class and earned the student of the year award 1997. "College taught me all about the modern ways of building while my time at work I learned many traditional techniques of laying stone, at the time I was always drawn to stone.. so many ways to lay it as opposed to bricks."

Stunning stone wall by Johnny Clasper. I do love this wall.

The next 5 years or so Johnny worked on many stone houses, extensions and barn conversions before going self employed. Years passed doing the same things, that is until he started to read up and practice drystone walling. 

"This changed everything, without the mortar separating the stone, i became more in-tune and aware of the stone, studying the grain, natural shape and textures, different results and finishes were possible, everything was now falling into place or was it?

it was always my dream and goal to build something that hadn't been done before, but everything seemed to have already been done by someone..

I had thoughts of somehow bringing stone to life but how?

a wall will always be a wall or will it?"

Drystone sculpture 'the seed' by Johnny Clasper

In 2010 Johnny decided to rent a small studio where he hoped to create something that wasn't bound by the rules of building or drystone walling “both seem to contradict each other”

He started by making a seed sculpture with leftover roof slate, the pinnacle moment and the start of his creative journey.

“But the seed sculpture wasn't quite what I had in mind” explains Johnny. “I wanted movement in the stone somehow”.

Johnny's stone scorpion sculpture

"I had an image of an attacking scorpion in my mind made with jagged stacked slate and polished black limestone, materials I had kept from previous jobs.

against all advice from my sculptor friends, family and my own instinct telling me not to do it, I decided to create the scorpion (or the illusion I saw in my mind)

the scorpion was an instant success and the door to my creative part of my mind blew wide open!"

Dry stone stream by Johnny Clasper

From here Johnny started experimenting with flow. “If stone can be brought to life maybe it could become fluidic and flow like water would?”.

"Any chance I got I would arrange pebbles or shards of slate into flowing patterns or drains, mimicking the flow of water spiralling away."

Johnny's swirly pebble path in the gold winning garden at the 2012 Harrogate Spring Flower Show  

Last year Johnny was involved in the construction of a gold awarded show garden at the 2012 Harrogate Spring Flower Show. Part of Johnny’s design brief was to lay a stone slab and pebble path. Most people, if not pretty much everybody else would have been content with pebbles neatly spread between the flagstones. But Johnny being Johnny felt compelled to spend what should have been a five minute job into a nine hour labour of love, transforming what (in my opinion) was otherwise a nice ordinary show garden into an extraordinary gold winning one.    

Johnny's wishing well

Johnny has lots more great work on his website www.johnnyclasper.co.uk  but he is also a great man for the facebook so be sure to give his facebook page a like and keep up to date with all his work. 

More flowing pebbles by Johnny Clasper

Can tradespeople be artists? Hell yeah!