Jeffrey Bale: Pebble Architect

 

Summery weather has many tending their gardens, building patios and thinking/planning ways to make their yard evermore beautiful. This time of year makes me think of Jeffrey Bale and the way he works with natural materials to turn simple pebbles into works of art.
 

 

After Jeffrey Bale graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in landscape architecture, he tried his hand at working in the industry. It wasn't a good fit to sit behind a desk all day. He needed to "get his hands dirty" in the outdoors. 

 

 

Bale's inspiration to create pebble mosaics came to him from a trip to Europe. Southern Spain, and specifically the beautiful pebble designs in the gardens and atria of the Alhambra, spoke to him. He then returned to the NW knowing what he wanted to do.

 He finds most of his raw material (rocks and pebbles), which are beautifully shaped by the power of the water. Most of the pebbles came from the glaciated mountains . As the glaciers receded and rains brought the various pebbles to the seas via the rivers, the minerals "painted" the stones many different colors.

 

Bale collects the rocks from shores while being careful not to leave any sign of a disturbance in nature's patterns. You can see his processes in a video. (Bale is generous in demonstrating his techniques in the video as well as on his website.)

 

 

One last thing: Bale travels to different parts of the world every year. Not only for the works made of natural materials, but also to be steeped in other cultures. His works often include his interpretation of the motifs and beliefs he finds along the way.