Bio - Jo Hodgson

Born in 1961 Surrey, England
Raised in Derbyshire, England
City & Guilds Jewellery/Silver Smithing, Manchester Technical College 1979-1982
B. A. (Hons.) Buckinghamshire College of Art and Design 1982-1985
M. Education, Manchester University 1997-2002
Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain - Craftsman certificate holder/member.
The Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada - member.

Jo Hodgson is a professional dry stone waller from the UK who moved to Canada in 2003 and established her own company, 'Stonescapes', now based in Ottawa.

Jo specialises in dry stone wall construction for both private gardens and public spaces. Her projects include; a dry stone amphitheatre, free standing and retaining stone walls, steps and benches, sculpture gardens and terraces, all built using traditional dry stone technique.

Combining her background in art and design with her expertise in dry stone walling, Jo creates stone capes that are both functional and artistic. Her work mirrors the intrinsic nature of the land; it is both informed by and in symbiosis with this topography.

Jo's work is grounded in fundamental principles of dry stone walling practice and uses traditional techniques to create structures that will endure the passing of time.

Undertaking residential and commercial projects in Canada and the UK, Jo works collaboratively alongside other professionals, including; artists, engineers, landscape architects, stonemasons, urban planners local and international dry stone wallers.

Media

Jo Hodgson - the strength of stone

by Kate Aley, West Quebec Post

Fittingly, the steps leading up to the entrance of Jo Hodgson's front door are of stone. At first they are unprepossessing; just grey granite, dark with the mid November drizzle. But on closer inspection, it's apparent that no mortar binds the stone and no cement fixes them in place.

They just hold together, a testament to Jo's skill as a dry stone wall builder.

Originally from Derbyshire, England, Jo came to Wakefield four years ago. "I didn't know anything about the area, but I knew I wanted to live somewhere with plenty of scope for outdoor activities and I needed to find somewhere with stone!"

Jo first learned the art of building with dry stone in her early teens, living on her family farm in Glossop, near the famed Peak District National Park. "We had a sheep farm with a lot of walls made of grit stone and limestone. A local farmer, Ben Cook, who was 70 years old, came one day to ask if he might rebuild some walls for us; for free, just because he loved dry stone walling. My sister and brother and I were sent to help and it started there." Jo's younger sister Sal is also a well known dry stone waller in the UK and still lives on the family farm. Her brother Clive farms nearby. England has a long history of using local stone to make barriers to hold livestock. Universities, working with the Dry Stone Waller Association of Great Britain, now offer a practical course to teach the art. "The Association has been around since the 60's," explains Jo. "There are local chapters across the country and even around the world, and people meet for training days and competitions."

Stones for dry stone wall must be irregular and rough, rather than quarried and dimensioned. "If you start by cutting the stone, it's hard to stop doing it," she reasons. The smaller stones used in a wall weigh about a kilo; the largest might be half a tonne. The biggest wall Jo has built was 20 feet high, with a base of 15 -16 feet "This is an unusual job for a woman, still," she concedes. "But placing the stones has a lot more to do with skill and experience then it has to do with strength. Very large stones are put into place with heavy machinery, but the only tool a dry stone waller needs is a rock hammer, and that is used very sparingly. Sometimes teams of wallers might work together for a very big project, but it's usually a solitary job."

Jo and Sal still work together every year, when Jo returns to England during Canada's winter. "It's not so cold in England, so you can wall all year 'round, but here the stones get frozen to the ground and covered in snow." Going back also means that Jo doesn't take too much time off walling. "Selecting the stone and the speed you can work at comes from experience and constant usage of your skill," she states. "You get to know instantly which stone to use or discard when you work; you can't lose the skill but you can get rusty!"

Cold hasn't deterred Jo from getting her hands on rocks further north. She is currently working on a 3-year project to build a large amphitheatre as a meeting place in Iqaluit, Nunavut. "The project also serves to get Inuit trained as dry stone wallers," she says. "They have a cultural heritage of building with stone." The type of rock often dictates the style of building and the appearance of the wall, but the methods are the same. "You never stop learning - every stone creates a new problem. So you must find a way to build that won't make new problems!"

"In the UK, a dry stone wall might stand 90 years before it deteriorates, as there aren't such temperature extremes. But dry stone is perfect for Canada, as the wall is flexible and retains its
strength during freeze and thaw. Dry stone has technical strength and aesthetic beauty, and dry stone wallers are passionate about their work."

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Stone works breathe life into unlovely city centre
Landmark project at Iqaluit Square will be focal point and gathering place for crowds large and small

by JACKIE WALLACE
July 7, 2006

Prodded gently by a forklift, a boulder larger than an adult seal balances precariously as the stones of Iqaluit Square fall precisely into place.

Mary Crnkovich, a mason from Ottawa who specializes in fitting stones together without concrete, is deep in the dust of this painstakingly slow process. As the forklift tips and holds a boulder in place, she and her colleague steady the rock by shoveling dirt at its base to hold it in place.

They step back to make sure it is perfectly placed, and check the line of where other rocks will follow. It's a project taking shape one rock at a time.

These stones will create a 30-by-60 metre ellipse that will host gatherings of up to 1,000 people. It will be the centre of the future public gathering place in front of the elder's qammak.

The ellipse, with a stage built at its centre, will be finished by the end of this summer, and a wall surrounding the square will be completed by the end of next summer.

The project is intended to beautify the otherwise dusty and garbage-strewn streets of Iqaluit and kickstart the identity of the city's downtown core. The stage will be a venue for performance and the stone wall will have broad openings to welcome visitors into the space and act as a bench.

"The spirit of the square is a public gathering place for one person or many people," says Clarissa Lo, the city's assistant planner.

Crnkovich was brought to Iqaluit by the city to work on the project. "No mortar is being used between the rocks," says Lo. "They are held together by gravity." This is meant to suggest a traditional use of stones, such as the piling of rocks for an inuksuk.

The design of the project aims to be meaningful and traditional. The largest stone of the ellipse will point north toward the rest of the territory.

The construction methods of a Thule sod house will be used to lay the stone slabs that will pave the way from the largest opening in front of the elder's centre and that will be used to build the stage inside the ellipse.

The city is also using sculpture to bring life to the Iqaluit's main drag. Passing by the college's central arts and crafts centre, Crnkovich's handiwork is evident again as she and her team work on a stone slab platform that will display a group of sculptures centered around the concept of the sea.

And right next door, an unused area in front of the post office will become home to two bird sculptures by the end of the summer.