Boulder Ready Rocks

A boulder as a trace of human work

Loose boulders gather in a landscape above all where somebody got them to: below the face of a quarry, on a spoil heap by a mine, at the foot of the cutting of a road dug through. The set with twenty-two pieces aims precisely at such places and suits anywhere scattered material is meant to be seen.

Dimensions

The pieces measure 2.9 to 3.8 cm in length and 1.9 to 4.4 cm in height. They are therefore compact and some are higher than they are long, which matches the shape of a broken-off block stood on end. Twenty-two pieces are enough for one pronounced heap as well as for several scattered groups.

Where to lay them

Below the face of a quarry the rubble falls from the top down: the largest pieces fly farthest and lie lowest, while the smaller ones stay higher at the foot of the face. This simple key decides whether a heap looks like a slide or like a handful poured out at random. By a road cutting, on the other hand, a few pieces in the ditch and one piece rolled onto the shoulder are enough.

The surface and what to add

The castings are toned by hand and the shade differs slightly between pieces, so a heap does not look uniform. Anyone who wants to strengthen the impression pours fine stone of the same tone in among the boulders and buries several pieces partly, so that they look sunk into soft soil.

Twenty-two pieces in practice

Dividing them into smaller nests works better than one continuous area. Three or four pieces together, a solitary boulder a little farther off and an empty space in between: that is what terrain looks like after a slide and after blasting. The rest of the package can then be left for a later scene, because the individual pieces can be used on their own as a point of interest in an otherwise empty area.