Chestnut Hill Home and Garden Festival

Sunday, May 4th 2014

                                                 Beverly, Grayson and I checked in to the Chestnut Hill Hotel Saturday afternoon, May 3rd in time to toss a little stuffed football for an hour or so before our 6 o’clock reservation at Iron Hill Brewery.  There we met our frequent Igneous Rock Gallery show accomplice, my cousin Jim Turner.  Lights out came early, and Grayson (age 8) begged me to awaken him when I awoke so he could help set up the show display.

Note Grayson rubbing his eyes...:)

It started out to be a   cloudy, windy and cold day.

 

By 2 o'clock the clouds had parted and the sun came out!  What a difference the sun makes.

We were introduced to this charming village in 2012 when a local couple, Richard and Alice Farley who are both architects, commissioned me to build a fountain for their residence.    

I've been busy creating a new line of fountains.  The stone and copper bowl fountain line, each one unique and crafted one-at-a-time. 

 We have several on display in our Mechanicsburg, Pa gallery.  

They are beautiful!  Here's one of them below.

We also create candle holders out of the Beaver Canyon andesite.  

And of course, indoor and outdoor fountains....

              

 "The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence.                                     To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”                                 Pearl S. Buck                     

This show was our second in Chestnut Hill.  We exhibited at “2012 Fall for the Arts” festival, where we won “Best Sculpture”.  We will return for “2014 Fall for the Arts” on Sunday, October 5^th

Background and Artist Statement

Hello.


Prior to 2008 I was a landscaping 
contractor focused on the design and creation of outdoor living spaces, including water features.  Koi ponds, though fun to create, require more ongoing work than many folks want to deal with. While self contained water fountains are lower maintenance, I had been less than satisfied with the typical selection available at garden centers. There just had to be a natural and tasteful alternative to the proverbial frog with water shooting from its mouth or the Grecian woman pouring water from a pitcher!

While visiting a bonsai studio in the Spring of 2007 I noticed something that stopped me in my tracks -- a small sample of slender, sweeping and richly colorful natural stone columns.  I couldn't get this wonder of nature out of my mind!  So I embarked on a long diligent search which eventually led to contact with the geologist who quarries this 45 million year old stone.  This particular stone, correctly identified as andesite, but commonly referred to as basalt, is sourced from only one location on the planet.  It bares rich hues of rust, gold, champagne and mossy green, not to mention eggplant and powder blue! The curious lines of these natural rock spires, combined with such vibrant color variations, make them breathtaking to behold and fun to work with. 

I feel blessed to have developed a niche that melds my artistic inclinations and landscape design experience with a need in the marketplace for art quality natural stone water fountains. 

  Robert, owner/artist of Igneous Rock Gallery

I chose this rock, not because it's the rarest columnar stone, though it is, nor the most beautiful on the planet, though I also think it is.  I chose to work with these columns because they draw me.  They excite me.  They help me feel more human or alive, or something.  It’s almost as if they chose me and make me devote myself to their fullest potential.

My artistic intention is to alter this natural material minimally while accentuating its appeal by focusing on the composition and presentation of the columns.  If you look at my work I hope you see what I see and feel the natural attraction of this wonderful ancient stone.