“Every one of us is getting older, which is a natural process. Time is constantly moving on, second by second. Nothing can stop it, but what we can do is use our time properly; that is in our hands. Whether we believe in a spiritual tradition or not, we need to use our time meaningfully. If over days, weeks, months and years, we have used our time in a meaningful way – when our last day comes, we’ll be happy, we’ll have no regrets.”

~ the Dalai Lama

Here is a small balance I made today, despite the freezing temperatures. Last balance of 2012. a greeting for 2013!

2012 has been an interesting ride, but I feel that the best is yet to come. no matter the ups and downs, successes, failures, whatever… the key is in the moment. hopefully I will have the opportunities to continue sharing stone balance through my art and experience… because for me this is one of the more meaningful ways I can choose to spend my time…

A good lesson I’ve learned this year…. no matter how crazy people or situations might seem, there is ALWAYS a personal still point that no one else can jade.  Rocks easily put me at my still point. And I’ll always be thankful for this practice and experience…

Happy New Year to everyone around the world!
Thank you everyone for your support! may everyone continue to learn and grow throughout 2013…

a cool random fact is that 2013 will be the first year since 1987 that is made of four different digits.. :)

While viewing this balance, I would like to include the following quote because it is quite profound, and possibly applicable through this art form…

“If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

~ Dalai Lama

2012 is nearing an end. An absolutely unbelievable year. This balance was intended for the Full Moon this eve; the last one of 2012. I’ve been visiting Colorado Springs for a week now and have fallen in love with Garden of the Gods (again).  I looked around for awhile to find a nice perch for a balance overlooking Pikes Peak in the background.  The presence of this mountain is intensely inspiring in her silent loom over Garden of the Gods; compassion and strength in purest form. So I would simply like to share the beautiful moment I experienced this afternoon.  Sometimes I feel a slight expectation that my balances must always be improving in order to keep viewers happy… but this defies the simplicity of stone balance. It is MORE than art.  It is ritual. It is thank you. It is meditation and silence. I most definitely enjoy challenging myself with difficult configurations, but I also love sitting and appreciating the beauty around me. It heals the soul in so many ways… Hence my joy in sharing..

“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

~Leonardo da Vinci

Much of the time balancing is also spent experimenting with different ideas and arrangements. Remember there is no right or wrong configuration of rocks. It is about YOU and what excites YOUR spirit.

For this one I began by roaming around the quarry looking at the amazing variety of shapes and sizes of rocks.  It was not until finding the large rock in the middle of this arrangement that I decided it would fit great for a triangle… In my experience and research, this form is representative of the feminine as the triangle is pointing down to make a V shape..  Superimpose a “male” triangle over this one in the opposite direction and we would have a somewhat balanced star tetrahedron form…. maybe I’ll experiment with that next if at all possible… Though, this one was already quite a challenge to realize.. and blew over easily in slight wind…. I bet the stability could be greatly improved with a follow-up attempt as well..

I invite everyone to have a listen to this interview I did last week… definitely the most in depth interview so far about my rock balance experience and “gravity glue” in general.. you can either read the full transcript or listen to the 40 minute recording….

Thanks to Sean Schof with “Compliment Vices” for taking the time to come over and do the interview in the comfort of my home…

Transcript/Recording can be found on Compliment Vices in the link above or here.

Thanks everyone for taking a look! :)

These images came about through some unplanned exploration at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs today… Amazing place to say the least.. The rock formations are unreal. And there are tons of examples of monumental earth-made stone balances.. As soon as i saw this formation, I was hooked. The earth possessed me (yet again) to record her magnificence..

also this top image makes me think of a good Jay-Z line from his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt” back in 1996…

“My motto: stack rocks like Colorado.”  ~ Jay-Z – “Can’t Knock the Hustle”

This other photo is a balance I made over looking Garden of the Gods and the famous Pikes Peak.  I arrived to the top of a lookout spot just before getting to the park entrance.  No rocks in sight…. but LUCKILY, or maybe not surprisingly, I had a few stray rocks in my car trunk left over from my last art show…  The challenge in Colorado Springs is the increased prevalence of wind.  It is much more of a challenge to get pictures as balances usually collapse sooner after completion.

I also would like to wish a Happy Christmas to all those celebrating! or whatever else you might celebrate….either way, I hope everyone is in the company of loved ones… It’s always nice to come down here to visit close family. :)

“What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.”
~ Nietzsche

It is nearing the end of the Winter Solstice 2012, and another long count cycle of the Mayan calendar has begun.  For many this day signifies the dawning of a new age. For others, it was supposed to bring doom. Then for most of us, it is just another day that was hyped up much too much..

Today I went out balancing in support of a global day of balance.. Not sure why it was chosen to be today, possibly related to 2012..? maybe for the solstice…yes.  I like to look at it as another quiet day…a gesture of appreciation… a demonstration that the world is NOT ending, that gravity still works. :)

Something interesting I learned about the ancient Mayans with respect to their calendar, is that when they reached a new cycle of their calendar, they smothered every flame across their civilization for that one night. Complete darkness.  Makes me think of some kind of system restart..

Love.