There are some balancers who care very much about the question "who started it?"*. Canadian Daryl Maddeaux, among a select few, has unarguably had an influence commensurate with his skill and longevity in the field. His website, rockonrock.com (which is no longer online) was begun at the latest in the Fall of 1999, and was the unintentional namesake of this one - not started until 2003. His mastery of the medium is astonishing; his public demonstrations at the Canadian National Exhibition celebrations in Toronto are the stuff of legends; his "well-worn" scrapbook shows work dating back to 1989, at least. These photos by Miles Storey, were taken on the Toronto waterfront in 2006. It is clear why Daryl has called his work "Awareness Art".
Others: Daryl Maddeaux - A Canadian "National Treasure"
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Earlier photos of Daryl show him with a baseball cap, but his signature pieces of clothing are now the Rock Valley t-shirts he often wears in photos, most likely the result of sponsorship by the Toronto area rock and garden supply companies with that name. They deal in rock from the Birkendale Quarry, which produces the kind of granite he often uses.
Daryl has been photographed balancing in Vancouver (also reportedly in Mexico), and was, according to some sources, born in Fredericton, NB. He has been called a "National Treasure" of his native land, and it is an honor to be able to feature him on this page.
...show me Other Balancers
*The answer to the question above, of course, is probably Andy Goldsworthy, if the discussion is about contemporary artists working in balanced rock and stone.
