My practice of art is integral and reflects the natural spiral of consciousness as it evolves in time. The art is contemplative and meditative in nature, affording multiple perspectives as tools for personal change and discovery.
The resonance of the art speaks to freedom and the natural unfoldment of humanity.
Everything in my life is expanding and I am not the woman I once was...nor am I the artist I once was. This used to bother me, but it only intrigues me now. What's next? I never know. Life's a mystery.
I am no longer doing shows and I have pulled my art out of galleries and back into my own gallery here at the farm. My commissions are a full time job and they keep me full. So my business and my life have become much simpler.............much more expanded..............and that is OK.....or wonderful depending on which perspective I take on any given day.
In the compulsion to simplify my life last year, I almost gave up this web site...but I reconsidered as I found that I would miss the interchanges I have with so many from all around the world. We are one world or perhaps we are many worlds vibrating just beside one another. Whichever perspective we take, our journeys are shared on occasion...and it is that sharing which is a precious gift.
Many blessings,
Carol Mackay Mertz
July 2007
Stane Brae Studios began in 1997 when I dedicated my studio in the woods. My husband, sons and I built the studio down by the pond on our farm. The completion of it greatly enhanced my practice of art. I have a stone carving room outside, an all purpose room inside, and a casting studio in a separate building.
Stane Brae is from the Gaelic and means Stone Hill. Our mountain home is surely that, though my stone yard is filled with carving stone and not field stone. After a visit to Scotland in 1998 the name took on even more significance, for much of my gene pool came from rocky hills similar to our own.
While on that trip we visited the Mackay Museum in Betty Hill. My husband called to me across the kirkyard to show me an unusually carved stone. He knew I would be excited about it, and I was. The unique stone was called The Farr Stone.
The central element of the cross is this swirling image of a trinity in an eternal cosmic dance. Finding such a disturbingly futuristic motif on a stone several hundreds of years old, reached deeply into my sense of connection with those who had carved that stone. The trinity is a frequent theme for me which has played out in my art over the span of my practice. I will long remember the connection forged that day with my ancient earth past.
When I returned home, I copied the bas relief trinity on a shard of stone. That image resides in my studio on my desk and now in my virtual studio to guide you through the website.
About Stane Brae Studios
Carol Mackay Mertz
The Farr Stone
Betty Hill, Scotland.
1998
LINKS
She is a member of the
One of the most interesting and informative websites about stone sculpture and the challenges of carving it is linked below. For those of us who get down and dirty in the creation of stone pieces, there has emerged this forum and an excellent directory of stone artists which informs both us and clients around the world.
I recommend
Walter Day Mertz, III has launched his furniture making business, Vision Furniture Design
and it is awesome! Enjoy!
View from the studio looking east.
The path to the studio over the babbling brook.
The artist at work...well...some days are more productive than others.
Homepage
April 2005...watch for rainbows when the sun is at your back and it is still raining. We've had several double rainbows here, but this was the first we could actually see where it hit the ground. Skip was getting the shovels to start digging for that pot of gold while I took the photos.
There is magic here and it is awesome!
About the Artist
In just a moment images will load of the meadow and the farm in all seasons. It will give you a feel for the elemental beauty which is inherent in these Appalachian Hills.
Carol Mackay Mertz carves in stone. Carol is an award winning sculptor whose work is placed in private and public collections in the United States and Europe, including the Reston Unitarian Universalist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax and the Unity Church of Fairfax.
From Robert Beaser's Mountain Songs, this rendition of Barbara Allen is performed by Arc Duo, Bradley Colten and Heather Holden on guitar and flute. Their website is: www.arcduo.com
I went outside and startled two turkeys meandering across the meadow close to the house. I got my camera and knew I'd never see the clever turkeys to take their pictures but began taking pictures of all the flowers in bloom, this particular afternoon, on this particular summer's day. The bounty of life is sweet and vibrant.
A Summer's Day at White Fox Farm
Hibiscus
Day Lilies
Bellisima, my lemon tree, in her third year.
Daisies and Coneflowers
Honeysuckle
Thistle and butterflies
Lantana from Monticello's Gardens
Cornflowers or Chicory by the side of the road
Black Eyed Susans at the center of the labyrinth
Day Lilies
Mistress Rosemary...our topiary in her fifth year.
Mr. Jefferson's Geraniums...an old fashioned variety from the Monticello gardens.
The Caracalla bean vine and trellis going strong but not yet in bloom from the Monticello gardens.
Day Lilies
The window box this year.
The newly created grotto on the back porch....Union is the center of the new fountain. The petals were oftered in ceremony asking for blessings.
Blackberry 's getting ripe.
The fig tree strong and full.
