The Art of Rock Balancing by Michael Grab
Land artist Michael Grab
creates astonishing towers and orbs of balanced rocks using little more
than patience and an astonishing sense of balance. Grab says the art of
stone balancing has been practiced by various cultures around the world
for centuries and that he personally finds the process of balancing to
be therapeutic and meditative.On his site gravityglue.com, he explains:
BALANCING ROCKS
As far as i know, many cultures from
across the globe have practiced the art of balancing rocks for several
centuries, if not longer. Rocks are among the oldest of primitive tools.
In balance, their purposes range from marking human presence to giving
thanks to meditative nature art
WHY…?
Over the past few years of practicing
rock balance, simple curiosity has evolved into therapeutic ritual,
ultimately nurturing meditative presence, mental well-being, and
artistry of design. Alongside the art, setting rocks into balance has
also become a way of showing appreciation, offering thanksgiving, and
inducing meditation. Through manipulation of gravitational threads, the
ancient stones become a poetic dance of form and energy, birth and
death, perfection and imperfection. they become a reflection of
ourselves in a way; precariously sturdy, mysterious and fragile. The
ephemeral nature of the balance often encourages contemplations of
non-attachment, beauty, and even death. one of the most lovely
experiences in practicing rock balance is the unspoken dialogue between
the rocks, the surrounding environment and my own creative flow. It is a
remarkably sensual experience to feel for balance points and realize
them… The positive reactions from people and community often inspire me
to continue balancing in public areas. The effect it has tends to be
spiritual in nature. For most people, seeing rocks precariously balanced
is completely out of the ordinary. the eyes will often argue with the
mind over how such a structure can remain in equilibrium.
“There
would be no chance at all of getting to know death if it happened only
once. But fortunately, life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth
and death, a dance of change. Every time I hear the rush of a mountain
stream, or the waves crashing on the shore, or my own heartbeat, I hear
the sound of impermanence. These changes, these small deaths, are our
living links with death. They are death’s pulses, death’s heartbeat,
prompting us to let go of all the things we cling to.” - Sogyal Rinpoche
HOW TO…?
The most fundamental element of balancing
in a physical sense is finding some kind of “tripod” for the rock to
stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large
indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or
in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close
attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the
smallest clicks as the notches of the rocks in contact are moving over
one another. In the finer point balances, these clicks can be felt on a
scale smaller than millimeters. Some point balances will give the
illusion of weightlessness as the rocks look to be barely touching.
Parallel to the physical element of finding tripods, the most
fundamental non-physical element is harder to explain through words. In a
nutshell, i am referring to meditation, or finding a zero point or
silence within yourself. Some balances can apply significant pressure on
your mind and your patience. The challenge is overcoming any doubt that
may arise.
“Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try” - Yoda
Achieving a challenging balance requires
contemplation of both mental and physical elements simultaneously. You
must “get to know” the rocks you are working with. Some rock characters
will coordinate better with other characters of rocks and vice versa
back and forth right, left, up, or down. The trick I’ve found is to play
and experiment. If you keep at it, a balance will be inevitable if you
make yourself present in that moment of balance. The closer you get to
achieving balance, the more weightless the rock seems to feel, since the
majority of the work is applied upward on the rock you are trying to
balance. Another tip I would suggest is try balancing larger rocks.
using larger rocks only magnifies the feeling of the “clicks”. Also,
more weight will usually have more stability in wind or other erosive
forces.
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