WORKSHOP REGISTRATION
January 4
Participants should arrange to arrive on the 4th and register between 6 and 9PM at the Anacapa Brew Pub on Main Street
in Ventura.
ROCKNOCKERS RENDEZVOUS
and SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION
January 10
As always, the evening before the Symposium commences there
will be a convivial get-together concurrent with Symposium
Registration. On the evening of the 10th this will take place
at the Anacapa
Brew Pub on Main Street in Ventura. Registration will continue
on Tuesday morning at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel's beachfront bar area, Aqua.
The Symposium registration fee is $400 which is $40 more than last January, but will include lunch this time.
Given the prevailing economic
conditions this may be more than some members can afford, particularly
for a mid-winter event, therefore current Stone Foundation
members in good standing who have paid the $100 deposit are
offered the choice of paying the balance either on January
10th or on July 10th of 2011.
SYMPOSIUM
VENUE:
The new meeting place is a spacious former restaurant right downtown on Main
Street, next door to the Anacapa Brew Pub.
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE:
THE FORMAT this year will be radically different from previous Symposiums:
MORNING: Individually or
in groups, Symposium attendees can spend the mornings as
they wish, participating in or watching the Lithic Olympic
events, participating in or watching a communal public art
project or projects, viewing demonstrations, engaging in
discourse with other attendees, touring around, or hanging
about, hiking, biking, rock climbing, playing golf, surfing,
reading, whale-watching, whatever. (On Thursday morning,
the 13th, there will be a half day trip to Santa Cruz, one
of the Channel Islands, for the first 50 attendees to sign
up for it.)
MIDDAY: We will meet for
lunch (included in the registration fee) at the Symposium
Venue.
AFTERNOON: Presentations
by notable guest speakers and Stone Foundation members, including
the popular “10 Minute Show and Tell."
EARLY EVENING: Following
a break for dinner (the venue is walking distance of more
than 50 restaurants) we will reassemble for an early evening
program of more presentations, videos, discourse, refreshments—an excellent alternative to a scattering of the force to various ‘night-spots.’
SATURDAY THE 15TH, for
those who do not choose to travel home then, can be seen
as an extra day, a free-form coda to the Symposium. Plans
for Saturday will doubtlessly emerge in the course of the
week. Santa Barbara, just up the coast from Ventura, has
a rich history of stone architecture and a tour will be arranged
if there is sufficient interest. The finals of some of the
Olympic events may take place then, and/or a communal dry
stone public art project.
Symposium participants
would be wise to delay their departure until Sunday, even
to schedule a few extra days before or after the Symposium
to further experience the area.
INVITED PRESENTERS:
• SEAN ADCOCK, dry stone waller, head of Northern Wales
chapter of the DSWA, AN IDIOSYNCRATIC SURVEY of VERNACULAR
DRY STONE WALLING in GREAT BRITAIN (Confirmed)
• MICHAEL DRUMMOND DAVIDSON, stonemason, stonemason, poet, raconteur, TALES,
TALL AND SHORT. (Confirmed)
• DAVID DERNIE, architect, Head of Leicester School of
Architecture, De Montfort University, Leicester England two presentations: NEW
STONE ARCHITECTURE and ARCHITECTURE,
IMAGINATION AND MATERIAL CULTURE, which are the titles of two book that he has written.(Confirmed)
• ANDY DUFFORD, public artist, THE GRAND CANYON RIM
AMPITHEATRE PROJECT (Confirmed)
• NICHOLAS FAIRPLAY, master stonecarver (www.fairplaystonecarvers.com)
THE ART OF STONECARVING (Confirmed)
• MICHEL GUYOT, the initiator of the Guedelon project
in France begun in 1998, a medieval castle currently being
built as it would have been in the 13th century, using the
same materials and techniques that were prevalent then. (www.guedelon.fr/en)
Michel and his team have recently embarked on a similar project
in the US, the Ozark medieval fortress. Both projects will
be described and discussed.
• ROGER HOPKINS, celebrity stonemason, sculptor, raconteur. HOW
I CHANNELED THE ANCIENT BUILDERS (on Nova's "Secrets
of Lost Empires").
• VINCE LEE, architect, STONEWORK PHOTO TOUR: Mycene,
Tiryns, Baalbek, Petra, Knossos—and other notable Eastern
Mediterranean sites (Confirmed)
• PAUL LINDHARD of Art City Studios in Ventura, stonemason,
stone wrangler, sculptor and storyteller (Confirmed)
• TOMAS LIPPS, stonemason, FOLLOWING THE OLD STONE
ROAD (Confirmed)
• PEGGY PERAZZO, researcher/compiler. www.quarriesandbeyond.org. THE
HISTORY OF QUARRYING IN CALIFORNIA (Confirmed)
• IVAN POUTIATINE, architect, REVIVAL OF AN INTERRUPTED
STRUCTURAL STONE BUILDING PROJECT
• JOHN SHAW RIMMINGTON, waller/wordsmith/artist, CREATIVITY
IN STONEWORK
• ROBERT SHULER, landscape
designer, HARDSCAPE RESTORATION OF A CLIFFSIDE
CHARLES GREENE HOUSE in Carmel, CA (involving Masatoshi
Izumi)
• EDUARDO LANDA VELASCO, architect and associate of Mexican
sculptor Jorge Zapic, The SCULPTURE AND SCULPTURAL ARCHITECTURE
of Jorge Zapic (Confirmed)
• WILLIAM WOOD, Santa Barbara California, stonemason, The
Historic Stonework and Stoneworkers of Santa Barbara (Confirmed)
• PLUS: THE 10 MINUTE SHOW AND TELL presentations
that were so popular at the last Symposium. Stone Foundation
members, whether stonemasons, wallers, landscapers, design
professionals or artists are invited to give a very brief presentation,
either a portfolio of their best work, or the process of realizing
an interesting project, or photographs of stonework in their
areas or places they have visited. As you probably know from
watching video clips and slide shows on the Internet, 10 minutes
is a lot of time. In this way, we could have the occasional
hour in which three or four members in succession give presentations
and answer questions. Feedback and discussions will doubtlessly
continue later. There have already been some interesting proposals.
If you plan to attend the Symposium and wish to do this, please
notify tomas@stonefoundation.org.
• AND: Selected videos of presentations from Stonework
Symposium 2007 in Mallorca, Spain.
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Those interested will assemble and discuss the the Stone Foundation’s
activities, its future form and function.
THE THIRD LITHIC OLYMPIC GAMES
Contests of skill, strength and judgment involving stone-related
activities will take place most mornings. These will include:
• A Dry Stone Walling Competition. This was the only
event with a cash prize at Stonework Symposium 2008 in Barre,
Vermont. This year the competitors will be building sections
of a retaining wall in what will be Ventura's Botanical Garden.
It is probable therefore that prize money will be donated from
the community. We hope that a bunch of our dry stone wallers
will participate in this.
• Eyeballing Contests (judging angles, weight, distance,
plumb and level)
• Levering (large stone moved by a two person team with
pry bars a certain distance.)
• A Stone Balancing 'Contest'
• The Wheelbarrow Steeplechase
• Lithobolos (Bowling with stone balls, a Neolithic pastime
(much like bocce) that was popular at the Symposium in Barre.
Those interested will have the opportunity to play during the
week and there will be a Lithobolos tournament on Saturday
morning.
• Hammer Throw and/or Shot Put
If you are interested in
participating in the Lithic Olympic events—as a competitor or an 'official'—please
indicate that on your registration forms.
CAIRN-ARC
Emma Wood State Beach is a long, curving, stony beach just
west of Ventura that sometimes has good surf (and fishing—perch,
bass, cabezon and corbina.) Its more than two mile length
is covered with sea-smoothed stones. It is an excellent place
for two types of recreational activities: stone balancing
and cairn building. Last year, instead of a Dry Stone Walling
Competition we assembled there for animprovised bit of cairn
building until a State Park Ranger appeared and said we needed
a permit for what we were doing. This time we will have a
permit and go back there and just above the waterline at
low tide build a long, curving line of equidistant cairns,
each five or more feet tall. This will be a great photo-op
and should only take about an hour, after which we will have
lunch.
LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
Ventura Beach is a popular surfing beach (bring a wetsuit)
and a pleasant place from which to watch the sunset, as is
the terrace of the Crowne Plaza Hotel which is right on the
beach.
Art
City Studios, Gallery and raw stone resource. This is
where the stone carving workshop will take place. More than
a dozen sculptors have studios here and the owners, sculptors
Paul Lindhard and Russel Erickson, procure and sell stone
to sculptors. Their two acre domain is thickly populated
with multifarious lithic specimens.
Santa Barbara, just 30 miles north of Ventura,
has a lot of interesting stonework. A map will be provided
to aid in locating it. There are botanical gardens such as Lotusland and
interesting private gardens and landscaping (a map will be
provided and, if there is sufficient interest, a tour can be
arranged).
The Santa Ynez mountains behind Santa Barbara
have rock formations (mostly sandstone) that would be of interest
to sight-seers or rock climbers. There are hot springs in the
Santa Ynez and others closer to Ventura, near Ojai, CA. A map
will be provided upon request.
The
Channel Islands National Park is just offshore. If there
is sufficient interest a boat can be chartered that leaves
Ventura Harbor for a morning excursion around the islands,
or a half day in the Channel watching for the whales that
migrate through here in January and February.
San
Simeon (aka Hearst Castle) is 180 miles to the north
of Ventura. As it would consume an entire day, a visit here
would be best scheduled on Monday before the Symposium, or
on Sunday after it.
TRAVEL
Workshop participants, please try to arrive on Thursday, January
4 and register that evening at the Anacapa
Brewing Company on Main Street in Ventura so that you
don't miss the beginning of the workshop on Friday morning,
January 5.
Stonework Symposium 2011 participants, please
try to arrive on Monday, January 10 and register that evening
at the Anacapa Brewing Company on Main Street in Ventura so
that you don't miss the beginning of the Symposium after lunch
on Tuesday, January 19.
Those not near enough to drive have a choice
of travel by plane or train. Flights to Los Angeles (LAX) are
easily arranged. Those who live in towns served by Southwest
Airlines can take advantage of that airline's lower fares to
Los Angeles.
LAX TO VENTURA:
Option A) Rental car. Those wishing to share
a rental car from the airport to Ventura should let us know
(tomas@stonefoundation.org,
505-989-4644) and we can pair you up with one or two other
attendees arriving at about the same time who might also
wish to share a car.
Option B) Train.
Amtrak is a good way to travel comfortably to Los Angeles and
one can change trains at the terminus, Union Station, and go
directly to the Amtrak station in downtown Ventura which is
within walking distance from the Crowne Plaza Hotel. From LAX
there is a bus (called the Flyaway) to Union Station where
one can get the train to Ventura. This bus costs $7.00 and
leaves every half hour between 5 am and 1 am, but we've been
unable to find how long it takes to arrive at Union Station.
Each train from Los Angeles will be met with a pick-up truck
to carry bags to the hotel. To
view the
weekday Amtrak schedule from Union station to Ventura (no
reservations needed): http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak
Option C) Shuttle.
The Ventura County Airporter leaves from LAX Terminal #1. It
cost $35. To view shuttle schedule and make reservations: http://www.venturashuttle.com/schedule.html
NOTE: Oxnard Airport is quite a bit closer to Ventura than
LAX (20 minutes by car) and flying into Oxnard might even be
cheaper than flying into LAX—if you fly United Airlines
(I think that's the only airline that flies into/out of there).
For instance, Boston to Oxnard, RT (two stops, one of them
LAX) is only $376 incl. taxes and fees. (Oddly, LAX to Oxnard
RT is $400+.) Bypassing LA and LAX would be a relief. We can
match up folks arriving there who want to share a rental car
(tomas@stonefoundation.org,
505-989-4644).
Santa Barbara just north
of Ventura also has an airport (served by both United and
American Airlines). Rental cars are available there as well,
of course. The Roadrunner Shuttle serves both airports and
will take passengers to individual destinations, whether
hotel, motel, B&B or campground.
From Oxnard the first three passengers share the price of $36;
for more than three passengers the price rises to $41. The
shuttle from Santa Barbara is a different story, it's $71 for
one passenger and $10 for each additional passenger. We may
run a shuttle ourselves to and from Santa Barbara. Click
Here to see shuttle information.
LODGING
Ventura has a number of inexpensive motels, less inexpensive
hotels and bed and breakfast inns. Click
here to see a list of them.
The Crowne
Plaza Hotel Ventura Beach is offering rooms to us at
a discounted rate of $80 (that's about 20% off.) Those who
wish to share the cost of accommodation with another Symposium
attendee ($40 is cheaper than most motel rooms) but do not
have anyone in mind to share with can email me (tomas@stonefoundation.org)
and I will pair you up with someone else of the same gender.
Couples, and those who already
have someone they wish to share with, or those who wish solo
accommodation at the discounted price, can make reservation
directly with the hotel at 805-648-2100. Tell the clerk you'll
be attending Stonework Symposium 2011. Reservations can also
be made on-line at https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=3093671
This is a boon. Not only only is this hotel a
great place to stay, but it is within walking distance of everything
else. A rental car would be a convenience, but not a necessity!
The Crowne Plaza is right on the beach and the
palm-lined walking/biking path that borders it. The beach has
not only sand, but an abundance of sea-smoothed stones in all
shapes and sizes, a veritable playground for idle hands less
than 50 yards from the hotel and within view of it.
The hotel is also a short walk from Ventura's
historic Main Street and its restaurants, pubs and shops.
CAMPING
As noted elsewhere, workshop participants will be able to camp
at the worksite on the hill at Grant Park.
In consideration of the financial constraints
which may make it difficult to travel to Ventura and attend
the Symposium the registration fee has been reduced to $360,
and opportunities for camping have been explored.
For Symposium attendees we will be renting a
camp site for tents at Emma Wood State Park. The Emma Wood
campsite can accommodate 30 tents and campers will share the
rental fee of $100. There are RV facilities available as well.
It is within walking distance of downtown and there will cars
going back and forth. The campsite is 200 yards from the beach
(see map below). It is also about the same distance from the
highway, so those wishing a quiet campsite may wish to look
elsewhere.
We have recently learned that there is another
campground near Ojai, CA, about 10 or 15 minutes inland from
Ventura. It is called Camp Comfort Park (805) 654-3951.
MAP
Nothing is that far from anything else, making a rental car
more of a convenience than a necessity. The terrain, except
for Grant Park up on the hill above town, is flat and as
the weather will be mild (and, hopefully, dry) a bike would
be an excellent way to get around, especially from the hotel
to the Symposium venue and the pub and back. The Ventura
Bike Depot will rent bikes to Stone Foundation folks at a
weekly rate of $50 (for two weeks: $75). Phone Shelly at
805-340-2453 to reserve a bike. www.venturabikedepot.com
CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE CLICK HERE FOR PDF TO PRINT
