The Work of Walling is to Prepare for the Next Moment

After four days of working together building walls, the six participants in the Elkhart workshop stood for their individual DSWA Level One tests. All successfully achieved passing marks. Congratulations to Merv, Kenson, Chris, Simeon, Gerald and Adam.

It takes a leap of confidence to move from making a collaborative contribution to erecting your own piece of freestanding wall. Every choice is yours alone. Many times in the day, the old Scottish proverb rings all too true - you make your own bed and lie in it.

The phrase is particularly apt for dry stone walling. Each stone laid forms a bed for the next layer to rest upon. We call the first course of stone the “foundation” when in fact every course is a foundation for what’s to come.  Making good, shoulder to shoulder and tail to tail, fits for neighboring stones creates the sturdy platform that will make subsequent work fall into place with ease.  The work of walling is to prepare for the next moment. The work of the wall is to stand beyond our own time.