Impressive rock balancing

[Sagan]

This rock balancing is done by Michael Grab. He is an artist and has killer patience. On his site gravityglue.com, Grab explains: “The most fundamental element of balancing in a physical sense is finding some kind of ‘tripod’ for the rock to stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the smallest clicks as the notches of the rocks in contact are moving over one another. Parallel to the physical element of finding tripods, the most fundamental non-physical element is harder to explain through words. In a nutshell, I am referring to meditation, or finding a zero point or silence within yourself. Some balances can apply significant pressure on your mind and your patience. The challenge is overcoming any doubt that may arise.” Pretty sick, amiright?

[Chantellabella]

How is that possible?

Does he really not use any type of adhesive?

[Sagan]

BALANCING ROCKS

Loch Ness, Scotland
October 2013

• Meditative art
• A worldwide phenomenon
• Life lesson
• Procedure: Put one rock on top of another rock.

“GRAVITY GLUE”

Gravity is the only “Glue” that holds these structures in equilibrium.
Gravity Glue exists to share my experience in the art of stone balance… All Gravity Glue images exhibit real rocks that I’ve balanced and photographed myself… The process resembles an intimate dance with the elements. adapting to the moments, embracing creative intuition. focused breathing.. silence… exploring and redefining “possible.”
THE ARTIST
Michael Grab

WHY…?

Bottom Line… it’s a fun way to relax, release stress, play, create… learn… all while challenging my skills and dabbling with countless possibilities…
Over the past few years of practicing rock balance, simple curiosity has evolved into therapeutic ritual, ultimately nurturing meditative presence, mental well-being, and artistry of design. Alongside the art, setting rocks into balance has also become a way of showing appreciation, offering thanksgiving, and inducing meditation. Through manipulation of gravitational threads, the ancient stones become a poetic dance of form and energy, birth and death, perfection and imperfection. they become a reflection of ourselves in a way; precariously sturdy, mysterious and fragile. The ephemeral nature of the balance often encourages contemplations of non-attachment, beauty, and even death. one of the most lovely experiences in practicing rock balance is the unspoken dialogue between the rocks, the surrounding environment and my own creative flow. It is a remarkably sensual experience to feel for balance points and realize them… The positive reactions from people and community often inspire me to continue balancing in public areas. The effect it has tends to be spiritual in nature. For most people, seeing rocks precariously balanced is completely out of the ordinary. the eyes will often argue with the mind over how such a structure can remain in equilibrium.

“There would be no chance at all of getting to know death if it happened only once. But fortunately, life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth and death, a dance of change. Every time I hear the rush of a mountain stream, or the waves crashing on the shore, or my own heartbeat, I hear the sound of impermanence. These changes, these small deaths, are our living links with death. They are death’s pulses, death’s heartbeat, prompting us to let go of all the things we cling to.” - Sogyal Rinpoche

HOW TO…?

The most fundamental element of balancing in a physical sense is finding some kind of “tripod” for the rock to stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the smallest clicks as the notches of the rocks in contact are moving over one another. In the finer point balances, these clicks can be felt on a scale smaller than millimeters. Some point balances will give the illusion of weightlessness as the rocks look to be barely touching. Parallel to the physical element of finding tripods, the most fundamental non-physical element is harder to explain through words. In a nutshell, i am referring to meditation, or finding a zero point or silence within yourself. Some balances can apply significant pressure on your mind and your patience. The challenge is overcoming any doubt that may arise.

“Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try” – Yoda

Achieving a challenging balance requires contemplation of both mental and physical elements simultaneously. You must “get to know” the rocks you are working with. Some rock characters will coordinate better with other characters of rocks and vice versa back and forth right, left, up, or down. The trick I’ve found is to play and experiment. If you keep at it, a balance will be inevitable if you make yourself present in that moment of balance. The closer you get to achieving balance, the more weightless the rock seems to feel, since the majority of the work is applied upward on the rock you are trying to balance. Another tip I would suggest is try balancing larger rocks. using larger rocks only magnifies the feeling of the “clicks”. Also, more weight will usually have more stability in wind or other erosive forces. Here are two short video demonstrations of rock balance..

[enfield]

there's someone who does this in san francisco. i mean theres lots of people. there's the imitators and then there's the real guy that's like professional at it. when he does it everyone crowds around him and hushes, holding their breath waiting for a rock pile to crumble. but they rarely do. they rarely do.

i was always super impressed by it but wanting to conceal how impressed i was. i suspected it wasn't as hard as it looks so i didn't want to gawk over them like some people did. did i like them as much as they did? i thought so. but was i going to show it? nope. mostly i was impressed with how the stacking of rocks looked, not really with the guy who did it or how impossible it seemed. there's lots of people like that who could stack rocks. im not saying i could ever be close to that good but just this isn't genius okay, its a patient and histrionic personality (yes, im accusing him of attention seeking but the same is true of most other artists or bloggers, recognition is part of the attraction) and someone who has *some* artistic gift. but that's it. they ain't that special for their rock stacking ability.

case and point, my family was sitting on the wall one time near to all these spires of precisely balanced rocks, and my brother added this huge rock to the tippity top of one of the spires. i thought no way in hell it was going to be balanced. it was as unbelievable a balancing as any i've seen. i was sure it wasn't going to work, and myself i would have been too timid to ever attempt as daring an addition as that. i shielded my eyes. but guess what i didn't hear next. the sound of tumbling rocks. it stayed. i was so impressed by my brother after that, but once again wanting to conceal how impressed i was. i still told him it was awesome what he did. i didn't admit i could never have the courage to do the same thing. so he, my brother, just waltzed over and improved it in an obvious and substantial way. i don't think the guy who does it as his artistic vocation or whatever would have attempted the addition that my brother did. so he ain't so special. he ain't so special.

[Sagan]

The Secret Behind How This Guy Balances Rocks Is Very Unusual.

More pictures and video at link

Michael Grab has mastered the art of stone balancing. He explains how he does it. “The most fundamental element of balancing in a physical sense is finding some kind of “tripod” for the rock to stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the smallest clicks as the notches of the rocks in contact are moving over one another. In the finer point balances, these clicks can be felt on a scale smaller than millimeters. Some point balances will give the illusion of weightlessness as the rocks look to be barely touching. Parallel to the physical element of finding tripods, the most fundamental non-physical element is harder to explain through words. In a nutshell, I am referring to meditation, or finding a zero point or silence within yourself. Some balances can apply significant pressure on your mind and your patience. The challenge is overcoming any doubt that may arise.”

http://www.lifebuzz.com/rocks/