Joe Smith of Dumfries, Scotland. Designer and creator of a range of dry-stone slate vases that go from two to eight feet in height, as well as a variety of globes, obelisks acorns, conifers etc.

His works now find homes in private and public gardens throughout the UK, in Southern Ireland, the Channel Islands and occasionaly across the Atlantic.

Joe selects and delivers slate in a choice of colours from dark grey through mauves and blues to olive greens, and constructs the works in situ.

His vases require no complicated or unfathomable justifications. They are elegant classical forms arrived at by a process of experimental failures and successes. Their essence and striking attraction is in their unique construction and their tactile, almost fabric-like texture, emphasised by the play of light and shade on and between the individual layers.

His vases and related works introduce a new dimension to the application of ancient drystone skills. Successive levels of slate are built up in interlocking layers to form a strong and durable structure which will develop a natural patina of moss and lichen and will perfectly complement most garden environments.