Stone fish mosaic

This little bluestone patio overlooks all the boat traffic in and out of Boothbay Harbor.

I love this project. It includes all my favorite things: stone, found objects, the coast, collaboration, creativity, great clients. We’ve installed miles of bluestone. I love the crisp clean lines, the slightly textured surfaces, and the color blue. Adding the fish to this project allowed me to connect to my family roots - my mother’s (and sister’s, aunt’s, grandmother’s, and great aunt’s) art and creativity, and my father’s (and uncle’s, grandfather’s, and great grandfather’s) deep ties to the lobster and boating building world. This is the closest I’ve come to bridging those two worlds with my love of stone.

Fish Sketch

Sketching practice. As much about getting rid of the “bad” ideas as bringing forth the “good” ones.

With the patio already installed, Willie’s steady hand cut the outline of the fish with a 4” grinder with a diamond blade. We liked the way the outline looked so much we thought about leaving the fish like this. It’s a nice subtle touch we might use in future projects.

The fish cut out and ready for pebbles.

Installing the pebbles into the belly of the beast.

Reel it in.

The fish a year after install. We used polymeric sand to hold the pebbles together and it’s working great.