Cairn: noun ˈkern A pile of stones that marks a place (such as the place where someone is buried or a battle took place) or that shows the direction of a trail.
10/22/16: The art of rock balancing is something we all played at a bit when we are children. But not many people spend time on it once they are grown. Enter Michael Grab, master balancer of rocks, who has elevated the simple act of stacking stones into an eye-popping art form. Here’s how he does it:
“The most fundamental element of balancing in a physical sense is finding some kind of “tripod” for the rock to stand on. Every rock is covered in a variety of tiny to large indentations that can act as a tripod for the rock to stand upright, or in most orientations you can think of with other rocks. By paying close attention to the feeling of the rocks, you will start to feel even the smallest clicks as the notches of the rocks in contact are moving over one another… Some point balances will give the illusion of weightlessness as the rocks look to be barely touching.”
But every bit as important to the process, Grab goes on to explain, is the element of meditation. He says he finds a place of complete silence in himself so he can find each rock’s sweet spot. He says the biggest challenge is overcoming your self-doubt. Perhaps it’s because of this element of meditation that makes them so appealing and so soothing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! I’m so thrilled to find an art form I can experiment with without having to buy equipment or supplies (or making a mess), I can’t wait to get outside and try it for myself!
You can follow Michael Grab on his Gravity Glue website and on Instagram.
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My OBT 
April 11, 2021 at 7:28 am
Clearly a man with endless patience
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April 12, 2021 at 3:04 pm
Yes! Can you imagine?
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April 12, 2021 at 3:27 pm
😎
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April 11, 2021 at 8:04 am
Check out “Garden of the Gods park” in Colorado Springs and look at what is called ‘Steam Boat”. I don’t have the steady hand nor the patience to do what he does. With that said, I sure enjoyed looking at all of them – Hal
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April 12, 2021 at 3:04 pm
Steam Boat is amazing! Thank you for telling me about it!
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April 11, 2021 at 9:23 am
What beauty and elegance! A patience beyond me. So lovely to see.
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April 12, 2021 at 3:05 pm
They must be positively magical to come upon!
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April 11, 2021 at 6:51 pm
I found myself holding my breath just looking at the 2D photos!
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April 12, 2021 at 3:05 pm
They’re amazing! I’m such a klutz, I was afraid I’d knock them over just writing about them!
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April 12, 2021 at 7:59 pm
lmao – I…yes! One breath and….
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