http://www.stonesofscion.com/ en Copyright 2007 Wed, 10 May 2006 21:41:40 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss ]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/queen_esther.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/queen_esther.html Wed, 10 May 2006 21:41:40 -0700 ]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/hosea.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/hosea.html Tue, 09 May 2006 21:43:41 -0700 ]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/daniel.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2006/05/daniel.html Mon, 08 May 2006 21:44:38 -0700 "JOB" White Wisconsin Granite (from a typical native "field stone" rounded by ancient glaciers) During a very difficult & painful time in his life, a man thousands of years ago named Job said these interesting words, "After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God." (Job 19:26) I chose this rounded , white, weathered Wisconsin boulder for carving Job to give the sense of a resolute firmness in view of a crumbling stone. Despite the fractured & decaying surface I wanted to give the hope of more. For a period of time Job's skin was afflicted with painful boils & he looked a mess. This, however, was the least of his problems as he struggled to make sense of what was happening to his life. It didn't make sense! Death & decay can seem all to real but there is more than meets the eye. Job saw beyond his suffering to a better day, a day of hope filled with wonder when he finally would see God with his very eyes.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2005/03/job.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2005/03/job.html Mon, 21 Mar 2005 21:38:27 -0700 Dust to dust. What does it take to shape a stone made of granite? Lots of dust. Using diamond blades and protective gear to minimize the ill effects, here is Pastor Adrian (me) working on the initial stages of a piece called “Pirouette”. The photo, taken by a guest to our home, gives just a little idea of the challenge of working in stone. Even with all of the protective equipment, it takes about a week to recover from the ill effects of the airborne particles that still get through the dust mask. If any reader has contact with an Occupational Safety Professional, an Industrial Hygienist or an Occupational Physician who has knowledge on how to avoid the hazards of granite dust, please let me know. My throat and upper lungs become very irritated using the respirators I have tried here in Northern Wisconsin. Nothing seems to filter it out completely.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/can_you_see_the_dust.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/can_you_see_the_dust.html Mon, 19 Jul 2004 20:55:25 -0700 Look what popped up! Working on my backyard landscape project yesterday, (such projects always involve stones), low & behold one stone rose up to keep a watchful eye upon all the others. Interesting! Could it be a stone age security camera? a fossilized flower? petrified ancient technology? Who knows? It seems harmless enough. As Adam gave names to all of the animals, I'll call it "Guardian" unless YOU can come up with something better.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/guardian.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/guardian.html Sat, 17 Jul 2004 09:17:46 -0700 Imagine being a pastor every Sunday morning looking out at the crowd. (Just try to imagine for one minute!) What do you see? Should (he or she) YOU expect to see some indication of life … some change? Is it too much to hope for? If one were speaking to a pile of rocks (as in the picture above from my back yard) it would be rather ridiculous to expect any sort of response. Unchanged & unaffected by verbal stimulation, sound waves at the frequency of the human voice have no effect upon stone. Is the human heart really that hard? It very well may be the hardest substance on the face of this earth. Imagine that! Maybe if rocks “bumped against each other” a little more, change could happen. Wouldn’t that be something? There is and ancient proverb that says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) What do you imagine could constructively cause such close contact (of people "bumping" against one another) if you were a pastor, looking out at the crowd? Let me hear from you. I'm working to see this happen on Sunday mornings.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/what_do_you_see.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/what_do_you_see.html Mon, 12 Jul 2004 20:57:25 -0700 After dinner with a friend and his wife last night, I learned a new trick! Something I never would have thought possible about smoke and fire. Now this won’t revolutionize your life but it is kind of fun – and safe! (Who could ask for anything more?) Notice on the picture above, the column of smoke! My friend Dan asked me after a dinner I had prepared of smoked beef brisket, if I had ever seen someone light a candle from 4” away? A perfectly natural question! (Maybe he was being polite because I had smoked my brisket just a little too much in the final 5 minutes of preparation.) He then proceeded to hold a lit match in the column of smoke and the flame then followed the smoke in mid-air till it reached the wick and relit the candle. Cool. Being two grown boys we then set off to see who could out do the other. So far the record seems to be about 6 inches. With a perfectly still (which is hard to accomplish) column of smoke and our wives as witnesses, we were able to light a candle from 6” away. Try it! Amaze your friends, and see if you can beat our record! Let me know and I will pass on to Dan that YOU now hold the world’s record! Right now it is (unofficially) me!]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/a_column_of_smoke_a_traveling.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/07/a_column_of_smoke_a_traveling.html Tue, 06 Jul 2004 16:48:33 -0700 Ezekiel welcomed about 75 people to a party in Wisconsin this past week hosted by John and Nancy (I will delete their last name to preserve their privacy). I got to the party late because of a wedding rehearsal I was conducting for a couple to be married the following day. Bummer! (Not for the wedding, but for the party.) In addition to the 75 people, Ezekiel was joined by a sculpture in black granite called Daniel and a sculpture in white granite called Hosea. They (the sculptures) didn’t eat much. The pea pods stuffed with lobster created by Nancy were great … as was the (secret) punch created by John. Hosea was nearest the punch bowl, but with a spotlight specifically installed for Him, He remained quite sober all night long. Thanks John and Nancy for having us as your guests!]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/ezekiel_in_real_life.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/ezekiel_in_real_life.html Sat, 26 Jun 2004 20:16:00 -0700 This may be a bit corny but I had to try it. This stone is a work in process where the top (as you can clearly see) has a “tongue of fire” actually burning. Jesus called Simon son of John “Cephas” which, when translated, is Peter. Both Cephas & Peter mean “rock”. I certainly have much work left to do on this rock before it is finished, but you get the idea. By the way, Peter addressed a crowd of people 2,000 years ago after tongues of fire separated and came to rest on all of the disciples who had gathered on Pentecost. Corny or not, stone and fire, Pete and Pentecost might have something more to say to us today. For your information, Pete only burns for about two hours until he needs to be “refilled”.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/pentecost_pete.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/pentecost_pete.html Fri, 25 Jun 2004 07:46:10 -0700 I am currently working on a “pieta”, which is Mary, the mother, grieving over Jesus after the crucifixion. These two stones have been interesting to work on as separate parts of the same sculpture. The picture does not show it well, but the horizontal head of Christ is red granite. Mary is obviously black granite. With the boulders off to their left “looking on” in my outdoor studio I thought this picture might be of interest for those following my work.]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/pieta.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/pieta.html Thu, 24 Jun 2004 22:26:51 -0700 Tears, kisses, and a beautiful jar of expensive perfume! In your day-to-day everyday life what do words like “tears, kisses and expensive perfume or cologne” bring to mind? Could it describe the Father’s Day some of you experienced two weekends ago? For those men who were able to return from Iraq and be with their families it probably does! http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/tears_kisses_perfume.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/06/tears_kisses_perfume.html Thu, 24 Jun 2004 21:07:29 -0700 Some stones, it seems, are more open to change than people! For that reason granite was a good medium to carve for me as a pastor. The Ezekiel sculpture you see in my April 9th posting was “carved” with a diamond masonry blade, a large chisel and a heavy hammer. The face was then polished using diamond abrasives through 8 grits from 70 to 3500. The point of the sculpture explores the reality & depth of thinking people are willing to engage in. Henry Moore has said, “If you think you know something, you stop learning any more about it.” This is a profound statement … about life, education, faith, God, the world in which we live, art, each other & ourselves. http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/the_more_later_i_promised.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/the_more_later_i_promised.html Thu, 15 Apr 2004 10:26:47 -0700 Taking a break from work I relaxed and carved this granite stone thinking of Ezekiel the prophet. God told him that he would make his forehead like the hardest stone. He was to speak to people who were hardened and obstinate. So, I thought, "Why not try to carve and let a stone speak?" More later!]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/hard_headed_people.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/hard_headed_people.html Fri, 09 Apr 2004 21:41:09 -0700 Here is the photo that I loosely based the background pattern on: ]]> http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/blog_photos.html http://www.stonesofscion.com/2004/04/blog_photos.html Mon, 05 Apr 2004 21:44:30 -0700