Thursday, December 3, 2009

Howdy Folks...We've been working shorter, colder, but still productive days building a custom courtyard fountain, which will be around 7' tall with a flagstone waterfall spilling into a beautiful natural stone basin. The same stone will climb up the wall to the protruding flagstone and we plan to light the waterfall from the bottom. Since I am much more a granite sculptor than a stone mason, I brought in Master Mason Brian Kennedy, who has built many projects over many years in Santa Fe and beyond....

click images for larger view....





This was an ugly square concrete basin (surrounded by curves all around the courtyard) that we knocked out. Sometimes it's better to start over than to try to make something work. In this case, it was absolutely necessary!






Mr. Kennedy forming up a new underground pump box that will house the "controls"...







We like curves in Santa Fe!






With Brian's guidance, I am learning how hard this ancient craft is. Next time you see a natural stone wall, look at how tight the seams are...then look at these! The basin picture has my stack on the right side. The picture below it is a close-up of Brian's exceptional work. We will mix our stacks to keep a consistent look throughout.
This is hard but fun! I'll post pics as it's coming along. Cheers!