Building Outdoor Fireplace Ideas...
Gravity-Defying Stonework!

When building outdoor fireplace designs with stone,  you can find a veri-
table smorgasbord of ideas just by looking at the "world" around you. Of-
ten,  some of the best and most distinctive stone outdoor fireplaces are inspired  by  architectural and sculptural elements or objects completely unrelated to fireplace design!

Spend a day or two exploring your city or neighborhood for creative ideas. Public parks and gardens are a great place to start  because  they  often contain  water features, footbridges, and/or sculpture -- all of which may provide inspiration for building an outdoor fireplace with stone.

Stone Sculpture above & at top right by Thea Summer Alvin

PART II OF II

As I mentioned in PART I,  one of my favorite sources of inspiration  is  dry stone walling.    Stone sculptor Thea Summer Alvin,  pictured at right,  has even  taken  it  a  step further.   Her circular stone sculptures are created without any mortar, whatsoever, and appear to defy gravity! A true master stone artisan,  Thea says that "when other  little  girls  were  playing  with dolls... I was eating my 15 pounds of dirt."

Clearly,  the striking work featured here is the result of many years spent honing her craft.    Based in rural Vermont, USA, Thea travels around the globe and has worked on restoring an ancient village in Italy.

As  inspiration  for building outdoor fireplace designs, Thea's circular stone sculptures are unique and dramatic.   With some modification, the base of the circle can be transformed into a "firebox" fueled by either wood or gas.

Though the level of skill required  to create  the  dry stone circle tops of Thea's sculptures  may  be  virtually impossible to emulate, a highly com-
petent stone mason will be  able  to create  a  design  with structural in-
tegrity . . . . . without  significantly compromising  the  overall  look and
feel of Thea's sculptures.    On  the
other  hand,  if  you  want the "real
deal," you may contact Thea at her website, www.myearthwork.com.

Building outdoor fireplace designs inspired by the image that follows may be a bit of a stretch but, nevertheless, I wanted to share it with you.  Part of a three section dry stone spiral sculpture, it is a remarkable example of the extraordinary work of Thea Summer Alvin!

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK FOR PART I:

Building A Stone Fireplace...
Think Outside the (Fire)Box!

Please check back often or subscribe to our RSS feed,  as  we  fre- quently add new & creative stone ideas for building outdoor fireplace designs to our website.

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