A standing granite wall with a tall hand-cut doorway

Stonemasonry

A conversationwith the ground.

Walls, arches, piers and garden structures composed one stone at a time, built for weight, weather and the decades after.

Commission a piece

Red chalk study of a mason seated on a squared block, hammer in hand — Weight · red chalk study

The material leads

Every stone arrives with a history already in it. The work is reading its weight, its grain and its natural edge, then finding the one place in the wall where it belongs.

Previous work

An archive ofweight and rhythm.

Limestone Arch — Limestone ArchLimestone · hand-cut voussoirs

Pointed Niche — Pointed NicheHand-cut voussoirs

The Cross — The CrossGranite · set into rubble

The Squint — The SquintJarrah frame · stone opening

Garden Arch — Garden ArchSplit-face granite · dry laid

Pier and Post — Pier and PostDry stone · timber upright

Sunlit Pier — Sunlit PierGranite · laid without mortar

The Borrowed View — The Borrowed ViewBrick and stone opening

Standing Wall — Standing WallLocal granite · tall doorway

Granite Pier — Granite PierIrregular bond · shaped by eye

The Oculus — The OculusLimestone screen · oculus

Wall Face — Wall FaceGranite · joints kept tight

How the work takes form

From the first lineto the last joint.

I
Set out the line
Levels, footing and the run of the wall are pegged before a single stone is moved.
II
Sort the stone
Every piece is turned, weighed by hand and put into face, filler or quoin.
III
Lay by eye
Bond, batter and joint are judged stone by stone. No two courses are the same and none should be.

Close study

Built stoneat human scale.

The opening, the arch and the edge matter as much as the wall behind them. Each one is set to frame movement, light and planting.

Corner Pier — Corner PierGranite · squared quoins

Carved Panel Wall — Carved Panel WallLimestone · recessed panels

Pebble Floor — Pebble FloorRiver stone · laid on edge

The Squint — The SquintJarrah frame · stone opening

GraniteBrickJarrahIronFirePatienceProportionGraniteBrickJarrahIronFirePatienceProportion