Others: One With The Stone - Jim Needham

Jim Needham ("The Rockstacker™") is a towering figure among rock balancers and stone stackers world-wide. His extensive website (currently being updated) demonstrates an inspired, vigorous body of work informed by his academic studies (MFA, SF Art Institute) and his personal, spiritual, and artistic dedication. Blessed with a unique vision, he has disciplined his approach to his work in a manner exemplified by the phrase (his) "One With the Stone". His over 10 years of effort have culminated in his public Gravity Garden in Carmel, California, near Point Lobos, although he explains that he does most of his work in private. To him, "Though the art I see is the photographs and sculptures, the richest experience ... is the actual stacking of the stones and I find many other people discover a similar experience when they try the very same thing. As with any 'practice' the more time one spends with it the richer the experience." Self-made museum quality archival photographs are available of many of his pieces. His online store has featured calendars along with other signature merchandise. See Jim's newest videos on Youtube.com

He adds the observation that "After I started to stack stones I realized that stones had been the focus of all of the photographs I had made over the preceding thirty years." Well aware of the risk of "taking oneself too seriously or not seriously enough", Jim has developed an articulate concept of the metaphors through which and within which he participates in the divine. The heading image on this page is a portion of his photograph of an altar at his Mended Hoop Campsite, where he "gathered his Allies", and made new sculptures. It is reproduced here in abbreviated form with his kind permission.