Rock Sculptures, On Mother's Day

Editor's note: Ed Basner is a new blogger for Ardmore Patch. You may recognize his work around town: he creates the rock sculptures that can be seen in places like the Wynnewood train station and the lot at Ardmore Ave. and Lancaster Ave. Check back on Thursday for an article about Ed and his sculptures.

I build the rock sculptures you may have seen in the neighborhood.  Maybe you haven't seen them, so now you know to look for them.  If you only see a pile of rocks, that's because people frequently knock them down.  Come back tomorrow and I'll have re-built it.  It won't be exactly the same, but it'll be a rock sculpture.

The idea isn't new, though the execution is different from other people who stack rocks one upon another.  They aren't cemented (yet), but eventually I may resort to doing that. 

The Inuit Indians would build cairns to mark paths, the Japanese would strategically place rocks in their gardens and many others would use rocks to enliven their lives.  First off, they're cheap and easy to obtain.  I haven't paid a cent for any of them (and no—I won't tell you where I get them). 

Sunday, being Mother's Day, I went back to where I first went public with these rock sculptures: I went to the Oakhill Condos where my mother once lived.  I revived the two remaining sculptures I had built there several years ago while waiting to take my mom to her bridge game.  (For those of you under the age of 25, bridge is a card game that is significantly more difficult than Texas Hold'em).

I had had four sculptures here, but the gardeners removed the rocks from two of the sites.  I consider that a clear indication that I'm not wanted.

Frequently, when I return to a site that has fallen down, I find that other people have tried to resurrect the sculpture, usually with rather feeble results.  This was the case at the Oakhill.  Since I only had a small amount of time, I mostly used the rocks that were there (Okay, so I did add some to one sculpture and took some from the other—are you always going to be this picky?). 

The sculptures are rather basic, especially since they were from when I first started.  I have since evolved to more complex derivations.  Yes, you'll get to see some of them, too—in the next blog.