Volunteer stone masons create circular stone wall at Fort Marcy park

Nov. 21—Remember the old fairy tale about the friendly elves who worked after hours to help a poor shoemaker make shoes, and he woke up and was delightfully surprised by the work that had been done in the dark of night?

Well, a modern-day version of that story, involving the creation of a 12-foot circular wall in Fort Marcy park, took place in Santa Fe one day in late October. Then and there, a dozen industrious volunteers gathered to quickly build the 3-foot tall wall around a long-standing sycamore tree free of charge.

OK, so they weren't elves but rather participants in the 2022 International Stonework Symposium, hosted by Santa Fe's Stonework Foundation. And though some passersby did come across the laborers at work in the light of day, many others were astounded to wake up the next day and see the new artistic accoutrement.

Stonework Foundation founder Tomas Lipps organized the event, which, he said, took about eight hours. He chose the site because he used to play volleyball on the open grassy field at the park and rest under the sycamore tree.

Eyeing the limestone wall on a recent weekday afternoon, Lipps smiled as he said one of the wonderful challenges of stone masonry is "you can build something that is enjoyable and pleasing to the eye out of material as obdurate as this one is."

Perhaps, in a nod to those shoemaking elves, he also said he also likes the anonymity of it.

"You don't sign stonework," he said. "The work itself is a signature."

The project, put together this summer, became part of this year's stonework symposium.

Every time stoneworkers gather for those symposiums, which take place around the world, they come together to build a public monument for the host city — such as Japanese-style castle ramparts in Ventura, Calif.

The symposiums, which began in 2000, draw stonemasons from around the world who take part in workshops, stone carving, networking and storytelling.

Those who attend the symposiums can volunteer to help create a stone monument for the local communities.

In Santa Fe, a dozen — though none from New Mexico other than Lipps — built the circular wall in the park Oct. 22.

North Carolina stonemason Jonathan Courtland, who helped build the wall, said it is a "great joy to build with your friends, especially when the stonework gets to be used by the public."

He said part of that joy comes from building something "for somebody who may not even be born yet."

Courtland said while not all the symposium projects are put together in a day, the "surprise element on this one [in Santa Fe] is kind of fun to think about."

The wall includes four seating benches. Lipps said he originally wanted to extend those seating benches out about 15 feet on each side to represent the Zia compass. But upon reflection he decided he should reach out to officials at Zia Pueblo for permission, so he went ahead and adapted the project as a seating wall.

He said it's possible he will still go with the original plan and extend those benches if he requests, and receives, permission from Zia Pueblo.

New Mexico Travertine Inc., located in Belen, donated 12 tons of Kansas limestone for the project, while the city of Santa Fe's Parks and Recreation Department approved the project and helped transport the lime to the park.

"The circular stone bench under the shade of a large tree is the gorgeous result of the kind of cooperation we in Santa Fe are capable of," Melissa McDonald, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, wrote in an email. "I've heard nothing but praise for this wonderful addition to the wide array of amenities our parks provide. City staff spent time helping out with some logistics, but it didn't cost the city a dime."

Lipps, who has lived in Santa Fe since the late 1970s, has created a number of stone projects around the city, including the public Fountainhead Rock Place, a distinctive fountain installation located at the corner of Don Gaspar Avenue and Water Street.

Sitting on the wall under the sycamore tree in the park, he said he wants to believe the tree likes the wall.

"I think it's happy people come and sit under it and share it," he said with a smile.