Stone Binding

(Preliminary Studies)

What does it mean to bind stones? A stone being a solid material object, retains the history and evidence of time. To accentuate a stone's form is to reject an otherwise shortsighted dismissal of its physical being and account for the effects of time. To bind a stone is to elevate its inherent essence and to acknowledge its being as something more than an otherwise dumb and inanimate thing to be discarded. To bind a stone is to appreciate it, spend time with it, communicate with it. It is nothing less than becoming one with the stone through the deliberate concentration of awareness and attention.

(Cuyahoga Valley National Park)

To go out in search of stones to bind in their natural environment adds another deeper layer of realization in this understanding.

To go out into the stones' natural environment is to account for the environment. Full of intent, this may not be initially evident. After exhausting all efforts to find a suitable location, spending an afternoon with stones minimizes imposition and gives way to further observation and attentiveness. This overwhelming sensation of mindfulness is possible through the absence of self. There is only the stones in their environment.

The environment becomes an active participant, interacting with me as much as I do with it.

This interaction allows for my efforts to be made celebratory.

The stones are suspended above their source, destined to soon return to the water.

The light begins to fade and I walk away, denying myself the sight or sound of their final offering.