Women learn strength and patience in all female stone wall building classes – Baltimore Sun

The sound of light rain mingled with the sound of rocks scraping and crashing together.

A group of women moved about, some kneeling and repositioning stones, others working to find smaller rocks to help lay the larger ones.

The women were part of an all-female dry-stone masonry class taught by the nation’s first female American teacher, Kim Coggin, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The class is a two-day workshop, said Mark Jurus, of Rockin Walls, where the class was held in Hampstead.

The goal is to build a freestanding wall, Jurus said, using traditional methods that have been used for years. Unfortunately, he says, modern masonry often doesn’t use the right methods to build these types of walls, and they fail.

But using the right methods, Jurus said, these types of walls can last for hundreds of years.

“Friction and gravity are what hold things up,” he said.

Elizabeth Snow was working in the Saturday class, the third class she took with Jurus, she said. It’s sort of a hobby for her, says Snow, of Rockville. She works as a piano technician.

Snow said she first became interested in stone architecture, especially houses.

“I became fascinated with building a stone house,” she added.

This type of construction and design is part of the earlier culture, Snow said. And she wants to be the one to help preserve it.

This type of building is hard work, Snow said, and not just because it’s heavy. You have to work on your section of the wall and work with other people, making sure what you do matches what they do, she said.

“It lets me appreciate how difficult it is to build something well,” Snow said. “Good things take time to build.”

For Suzanne Pace of Pittsburgh, this type of class started out as a hobby. Now, she says, it’s a “means to an end.”

She recently quit her “desk job” and hopes to get a level one certification so she can start building dry stone walls, Pace said. There are three levels of professional walls – level one is the basic level, but allows someone to be hired professionally.

“It’s a very traditional form of craftsmanship that I’ve always admired,” she said.

The aesthetic is something she really loves, Pace said. It’s a kind of sculpture for her, she added.

“It’s my second career. It’s my change,” Pace said.

People so often focus on instant gratification these days, Coggin said. This type of craft requires more time, she says.

But it’s worth it — if built correctly, it’ll outlast your kids and grandkids, Coggin said. It can last for hundreds of years.

“[It] requires a lot of patience. The stone will always win,” she said.

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