Product Description

“Finding stone, choosing it, and letting go of it are the three things a waller does. I’d miss any one of them too much if I asked someone else to do them for me. I may work by myself, but I’m not alone. I’m in the company of stone.”

Dan Snow is a waller, an artisan who builds walls, terraces, caverns, and the occasional sphere or pool out of dry stone. It’s an ancient skill—building with only what the earth provides. No mortar, no nails, nothing to hold his creations together except gravity, an invisible glue he can sense in the stones’ “conversations” of squeaks and rumbles. A hollow sound means a void needs to be filled; a solid fit is secured with the sound of a bolt being thrown.

Snow’s evocative prose and Peter Mauss’s richly textured photographs of Snow’s work reveal the nuance and beauty of walling—and of one man’s relationship with nature. The result is by turns poetic and practical.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137617 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
Dan Snow builds stone walls without benefit of mortar or other binding material. This ancient dry-stone method is experiencing a revival, and Snow's In the Company of Stone is full of moody photos of recent landscape projects, some of which look as if they'd been part of the scenery for centuries. Snow's poetic commentary and a helpful appendix of design detail make for an inspiring, informative book.

From Booklist
Although some sculptors choose to subtract--carving away at a block to reveal the form concealed within--others, like Snow, fabricate works that reach fruition by way of an additive process. The compellingly tactile quality of stone entices Snow to build drystone walls and other structures, sometimes crafting such autonomous shapes as spheres. Likening the process of walling to alchemy, Snow conveys a boundless delight with his occupation. Whether describing the material that occupies his days, or expressing intricate knowledge of how stone responds at each stage of construction, Snow writes beautifully. Befitting the narrative, a felicitous clarity distinguishes Peter Mauss' black-and-white photographs and beguiling color images, all of which reveal Snow's profound artistry at work. In all, this handsome book discloses the potency of stone as displayed in the deftly crafted walls and staircases, raised planting beds, and fanciful grotto that enhance the houses, gardens, and open landscapes of Snow's fortunate clients. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A fascinating work [with] spectacular photographs."
—Sacramento Bee (Sacramento Bee )

"In this artful tome, stone walls are not just linear boundary markers, but sinuous, wandering creatures."
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

"Snow nestles his practical depictions of design within rhapsodies about earth and stone and man."
—Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe New Mexican )

"The prose weaves between practical and poetic with the same gentle twists as an old field wall, inspiration to armchair waller and budding artisan alike."
—Washington Post (The Washington Post )

Customer Reviews

This is not a "how-to-do-stonework-101" book, but it shows color & b/w photos of completed projects
The beautiful color photographs of the artfully designed and master-crafted stonework are nicely done! It seems apparent to me that the stone mason has a definite love for his chosen profession and for any project precisely crafted. This book is not a "how-to-do-stonework-101." It is the meshing between the photographer and artist that tells a unique story in pictures. This book wets my appetite for wanting to learn more about this timeless craft!

Dan Snow is the master of stonework
Dan Snows stonework may be some of the best in the world. Of all the stonework I have seen over the years his stands of as the best of the best.
This book illustrates much of Dans work demonstrating what is possible.
Most of this work is dry laid stone which is an art in itself. For those who like work utilizing mortar I recommend Lew Frenches book. Buy this book if you love to view stonework that makes you say " WOW!"

Words and Walls
Over a decade ago, Dan Snow repaired the hundred-year-old dry stone walls that wander across our property in Vermont. The tumbled stone had been evocative, but the symmetry of the reassembled walls has been an irresistible delight. I do not know Snow--he worked while we were away--but I have thanked him a million times for his art. In this book, he has somehow captured with words the sensory pleasure of organizing and reorganizing stones. The art of walling, as evidenced by Peter Mauss's photographs, and the skill of walling, as described by Snow, are compulsively fascinating, an adventure for the armchair dreamer.
The text and illustrations blend carefully, and the color photographs sparkle. The reproduction of the black and white photographs varies in quality, alas. This is a charming book. An excellent companion book is Gordon Hayward's "Stone in the Garden."