An Outdoor Classroom

Having this sculptural outdoor classroom project for a school as my first large public work was both challenging and rewarding. Following a site visit with the arts committee of the school I created a concept that would be distinctive of the schools ethos and beliefs, while also creating a visually stimulating space that would be a slice of earthiness and nature in an urban area largely dominated by concrete and steel.
It took almost a year, and 100 tonnes of stone to complete, but I think the before and after shots below shows how successful the project has been.

My new favorite before and after photo

Tom Pollard acting out a scene on our theatre stage.

Working in the middle of a school yard, the site often felt like a theatre stage, with students and parents alike curious to see what was happening and eager to see how the structure developed. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to share some knowledge of the craft I am so passionate about. I would sometimes find myself performing for my audiences, overly dressing a piece of stone so that the ping of hammer and chisel rings out over the school yard to the delight of the spectators.
There are almost 500 students in this school. So if you multiply 500 students by 1 million questions each, it equals some pretty amusing questions. I have been asked "Are you building a church?" "When will the castle be finished?" "Why are you hammering the bricks?" "Why are you doing that" "Why do you have a hole in your jacket", but the most common question and response I would get from students and parents alike went as follows:
"What are you building??.......An outdoor classroom!............(long pause).........."Will it have a roof on it?"....No it is an outdoor classroom!.......(another long pause)......."oh"...

I was delighted to be able to create a space that visually demonstrates the schools ethos and sparks excitement and curiosity in the process. It is a wonderful feeling to leave the space behind knowing that it will continue to excite and intrigue minds young and old for generations to come, also knowing that the structure will only improve with age as the stonework weathers and the planting evolves.

click on the video to see the building process from start to finish. Get yourself a cup of tea 'cos it's seven minutes long, but then again it did take a long time to build.

The Concept

The outdoor classroom consists of a walled garden type structure. The walls are comprised of dry faced stonework, inspired by the ancient traditional dry stone walls found throughout the country. The stone is Lacken sandstone from Co. Mayo.

Taking inspiration from the four strands of the learning spiral from the school ethos, the centre of the structure is a large spiral incorporated into the floor and walls. The first strand of the spiral is already visible as you walk towards the classroom. It spirals first along the ground, then into the wall, before curling up to create the arched entrance into the classroom. Similarly, another of the strands runs into the wall, curling up to form the border of the family tree mosaic. Yet another strand finishes at the teachers stone chair, with the fourth strand of the spiral turning into the path of the exit from the classroom.

Entrance into the outdoor classroom

The concept is to have a structure that is visually inspiring from both the outside and the inside, a place for children to get excited about being in the great outdoors as well as learning about it.

The stone structure sits in between sculpted grass mounds that help create a wilderness setting. These mounds fill with colour in the early spring with a dense mixture of spring bulbs. This explosion of colour is continued on into the late autumn by the blend of native Irish wildflowers which will also encourage wildlife into the area.  The planting inside the structure is composed of various colourful seasonal flowers the children can both plant and admire throughout the year.

Planted inside the stone structure, behind the stone teachers chair is a native ‘Fairy Tree’, or Hawthorn. The Hawthorn, with its beautiful spring blossoms, is a tree embedded deep in Irish myths and folklore and will make for many a great tale on a sunny day in the classroom.

One feature in the structure I was very much looking forward to building was the spiralling moongate. I had this feature in my head for some time and was waiting for the right opportunity to build one. Building this moongate involved  a lot of head scratching and even more stone cutting. In order to build it in a way that it would be structurally sound and withstand the heavy traffic it is likely to endure, a lot of cleaver cutting had to be done.  The most difficult and time consuming part was building the lower left (as seen below) section where the spiral coils back into itself. These skinny pieces are in some cases three time the thickness of what is visible, they have been chamfered back into the larger stone below to give them strength and weight.  

Another complex feature that I was excited to build was the stone tree mosaic. I have already written about this feature in a separate blog post that can be read here

The roots of the family tree mosaic

Student participation.

students painting leaf tiles for the family tree mosaic

The design brief called for the students to be involved in the project in some way so that they could put their own stamp on the project. The design allowed for a number of projects for the kids to get involved in.  The natural stone 'Family Tree' mosaic that is incorporated in the walls has leaf shaped tiles which the kids got to paint in class along with the border tiles that surround the mosaic. Read more about the family tree mosaic in the blog post I did about that here

The family tree mosaic

The four large tables in the classroom have also been mosaiced. A competition was held in the school to design the table tops. The students were asked to design the table tops to represent the four strands of the schools ‘Learn Together’ Curriculum, these being Equality and Justice, Ethics and The Environment, Belief Systems, and Moral and Spiritual Development.

Every student in the school (almost 500 in total) got the opportunity to be part of the mosaicing process 

The completed tables

Ethics and The Environment table

Students were involved in planting some of the 3000 daffodil bulbs into the mounds that surround the outside of the classroom. They will be involved on an annual basis in planting of flowers in the raised planting bed inside the classroom walls. Two past students, now in transition year in the neighbouring secondary school also got the opportunity to work with the artist for a number of weeks gaining valuable experience in stonemasonry through the building of the stone walls of the structure.

First of the spring bulbs

Summer wildflowers

The teachers chair (well most of the time)

I will leave the final words to the school who wrote this lovely testimonial for me.

Testimonial from the School

Awarded the project after successfully competing in a public tender process, Sunny Wieler from Stone Art was commissioned by the school to create an outdoor classroom. From the very start it was clear that Sunny had fully embraced the ethos of the school both in his presentation and his daily work.

Sunny has been working at the school for the last year, practical in his approach, he has been very flexible working around school yard time/ PE etc. He has worked  in close contact with our caretakers/gardeners in order to maintain a strong link with any changes happening during the school day he needs to be aware of and has always been enthusiastic in answering the children's many questions. Starting on site early each morning he has built a rapport with the parents as they drop their children to school.

He has contributed positively to all our committee meetings, embracing changes and answering all our queries, helping us shape our thoughts as the project developed. Sunny has consistently been eager to include the children, staff and parents and indeed the wider community in the project. Each have been involved in creating many of the mosaic pieces and planting around the classroom.

Sunny is meticulous in his approach to his craft. Both in the original design consideration and in his daily approach to his work. He certainly never 'cuts corners', his attention to detail in many elements of the design have been remarkable. The almost soothing sound of him chipping away at one of our native stones will be truly missed when he completes the project.

It has been an honour to have Sunny create for us a lasting piece of art that, in a rapidly changing world, is both a beautiful testament to our history and a practical outdoor space we hope will be used and appreciated by many future generations.

Finally a quote from one of our caretakers, “Sunny has the patience of a saint, he quietly works away, it sometimes feels like he isn't here at all, that the classroom just grew out of the ground” I hope this indicates how much he has become part of our school community, how his craft is quietly appreciated everyday and how successful our 'Outdoor Classroom' project has been.

Happy New Year and reflecting back on 2012

Detail from the 'Family Tree' mosaic I am working on for an outdoor classroom

Happy New Year everyone. I feel the need to write a new blog post as I have been neglecting to do so over the past six months or so. Looking back at 2012 it has been a mixed year. While battling our way though a severe recession I reflected on some of the positives of 2012.

Although I had a long and quiet winter and spring, 2012 did bring along a few projects that I am very happy with. I did get to make a stone mosaic panel that I had been wanting to make for some time. My mind is full of many, many ideas. Some just plain crazy, some incredibly ambitious and some that just require an enthusiastic client to make them become a reality.

Fortunately I got one of these enthusiastic clients this year that let me create this mosaic panel as a focal point in a garden makeover I was doing for him at the time.

Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here

For this panel I used some Golden brown Quartzite from Co. Donegal that I had left over from building the garden, with some Liscannor sandstone from Co. Clare I had laying around in the studio. These two stones make a striking contrast to each other and the mirror reflects fragmented colours and light from around the garden.   

Natural stone mosaic in Gerry's Town Garden. More photos of this garden here

In early 2012 I also took in the position on Chairman of The Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland and although this has taken up much of my free time (time usually spent writing blog posts) it has been great working with like minded people that share a passion for stone and Ireland's rich stone heritage.

One of Ireland's stunning dry stone walls. 

Working on a section of dry stone wall at the Liscannor quarry with members of the DSWAI, more about this here 

During the summer I was asked by friend and fellow DSWAI member Tom Pollard to help with a public art project he had organised at Electric Picnic, the country's premium music and arts festival. 

Dry-stone public art project at Electric Picnic 

Tom had devised a sculpture that would only use materials that could be salvaged from the grounds of the estate that the festival is held on and also show off the craft of dry-stone construction. The cantilevered seats made the piece interactive and gave people the opportunity to take a rest.

The team. DSWAI members Tom Pollard, Alex Panteleyenko, Sunny Wieler and Julia Gebel

The beautifully carved cap stone was carved by Julia from an old piece of cut stone that lay on the ground not 10m from where it now sits. 

  The rest of the structure was built from reclaimed limestone and slates from the roof of the estate that had recently been replaced. Even the timber for the seats came from a damaged tree that was cut down on the estate the year before.

2012 also saw some of my stone projects included in a internationally distributed book on stone features. I was honoured to be featured alongside many wonderful stone artists from around the globe.

2012 also saw me return to the Aran Islands for another Feile na gCloch (Festival of Stone), a wonderful weekend of Stone, Stout and banter among fellow wallers and stone enthusiasts. This is a weekend I thoroughly recommend and one I will look forward to returning to next September. More about this event in my blog post here

Feile na gCloch 2012

The rest of 2012 has been taken up working on a wonderful outdoor classroom I am building for a school in Dublin. This is still very much under construction but I will share more about this with you all once it has been completed. For now I will leave you with a sneak preview of the classroom as it looks now from one of the two entrances.

Under construction. Outdoor classroom for a school near Dublin.

 Wishing you all much success and happiness in 2013. Regards, Sunny Wieler

The colossal land art of Andrew Rogers

Ancient Language 2004 Atacama desert, Chile. 80m long x 3m high

Building of Ancient Language 2004

Andrew Rogers is a sculptor whose works may be found in many plazas and buildings around the world. He is a leading contemporary artist.

Rogers is the creator of the world’s largest contemporary land art undertaking. Titled “Rhythms of Life,” the project commenced in 1998 and at present comprises 48 massive stone structures (Geoglyphs) across 13 countries in seven continents and has involved over 6,700 people. These Geoglyphs range in size up to 40,000 sq m/430,560 sq ft – and are commanding worldwide attention. They are situated in the Arava Desert - Israel, the Atacama Desert - Chile, the Bolivian Altiplano, Kurunegala - Sri Lanka, Victoria -Australia, the Gobi Desert - China, Akureyri - Iceland, Rajasthan - India, Cappadocia - Turkey, Jomson and Pokhara in Nepal, Spissky and the High Tatras in Slovakia, the Mohave desert in the USA, near the Chyulu Hills in Kenya and an ephemeral installation in Antarctica near the Dakshin Gangotri Glacier. Individually and together the Geoglyphs form a unique set of drawings upon the Earth stretching around the globe, connecting people with history and heritage.

The title of the project, the “Rhythms of Life” is derived from Rogers’ early bronze sculptures.

One thing that I find as impressive as the vast sculptures themselves, is the organisation and sheer manual labour involved in constructing them.

Building of Presence Cerro Rico mountains, Bolivia 2005

Video of the work in Bolivia showing some of the unique cultural experiences that are very much a part of every build.

 To enable him to realise his visions Rogers enlisted the help of two young Israeli architects, Tidah Beca and Golan Levi, who supervised the construction of most of his earthworks around the world. “Space and Time,” the largest complex, is the culmination of this ambitious global undertaking. Rogers spent two years negotiating with local Turkish authorities to accept his initial proposal for a pair of earthworks.

His business acumen served him well here in manoeuvring through delicate negotiations and in organizing hundreds of workers, overseers, translators, and transportation and food providers. Without the support of laborers, craftsmen, education leaders, and political and religious advisors, an elaborate undertaking such as this— financed by private donors, including the artist, public funds from the national and local government, and grants from several Turkish corporations—could never be realized.

Sacred. Poprad, Slovakia. 2008 100m x 100m Made from Travertine marble.

The Ancients. Atacama desert, Chile 2004 90m x 90m 

Located at an altitude of 2469 m (8100 ft) above sea level, on the Llano de la Paciencia (Plain of Patience), 13 km from the town of San Pedro de Atacama, "The Ancients" geoglyph is derived from a 6000 year old pictureglyph known as "El Señor de los Báculos"  

The stone walls forming this geoglyph, constructed from volcanic rock and clay, are 1200 m (3936 ft) in length.

Building work on  The Ancients  sculpture Chile 

The viewing deck The Ancients  sculpture Chile    

The Messenger. Gobi desert, China 2006 150m x 150m

The only exception to the kind of communal collaboration characteristic of his work occurred in China, where Rogers created three geoglyphs in the Gobi Desert. He found the bureaucracy there exceptionally daunting and ended up accepting the government’s offer to use a 1,000-man army unit to construct the earthworks rather than employ the remote region's inhabitants. Rogers now admits that he regrets the decision, since it runs counter to the project’s spirit and trajectory. Nonetheless it is an amazing sight to see in action. 

Some of the 1000-man army unit to construct the earthworks in China 

Some of the 1000-man army unit to construct the earthworks in China 

Check out this video of the construction works in China

A few more of my favourite pieces

Rhythms of Life, Arava desert, Israel 2001 29m x 24m

Rhythms of Life, Arava desert, Israel 2001 29m x 24m

To Life, Arava desert, Israel 1999 38m x 33m

To Life, Arava desert, Israel 1999 38m x 33m

Labyrinth. Jomsom, Nepal 2008 60m x 60m

Bunjil, you yangs national park, victoria, Australia 2006 100m wingspan x 80m depth

Slice. Arava desert, Israel 2003 80m x 38m

Although this is fast becoming another epically long post I would also like to mention (just for the sheer size of the pieces of stone used) is the site in Cappadocia, Turkey, where in September 2011 Rogers completed the “Time and Space” geoglyph park. The thirteen structures comprise more than 10,500 tons of stone and, in total, the walls measure approximately 4 miles (7 km) in length. The structures that lie furthest apart are separated by a distance of 1.25 miles (2 km).

A Day On Earth. Cappadocia, Turkey 2009 31.5m x 51m x 19.5m (103.35ft x 167.32ft x 64ft)

The  64ft high  solid basalt columns that make up part of the A Day On Earth, Sculpture Cappadocia, Turkey 2009   

Part of the 'A Day On Earth' sculpture includes the world’s largest basalt arch. Inscribed with a single word, MEMORY, the arch is 64ft high, constructed with solid basalt columns, each weighing in excess of 84 tons, and is the largest such basalt structure in the world. The arch is located at the end of a colonnade of 30ft high basalt columns, each inscribed with 22 virtues. “A Day on Earth” is about the fragility of life and society, and values inscribed on each column are imbued with meaning and a deep yearning of every person- liberty, justice, integrity, truth, respect, peace, freedom, quiet, hope, optimism, history, heritage, tolerance, beauty, joy, rights, love, responsibilities, faith, compassion, goodness, kindness.

Not too far away are the 6m (19.7ft) high basalt columns of 'Yesterday Today Tomorrow' 2009 

Another part of the 'Time and Space' park completed in 2011 is Presence. 24 basalt columns up to 9m (30ft) high 38 × 22 × 9m(125′ × 72′ × 30′)

The work I have shown here is just a taste of the amazing work that Andrew has completed to date.  To see  his complete works, check out his website http://www.andrewrogers.org also check out the book of his works 'Rhythms of Life'. All the photos used for this post are from Andrews website with is kind permission.