Outdoor Rock Sculptures

Shop our selection of outdoor rock sculptures - each sculpture is handmade from found rock & iron.

Francis Metal Works Garden Art & Ornaments

Francis Metal Works combines steel with hand selected fieldstones resuling in unusually elegant garden sculptures. Jeweler Charles Adams and metal worker Thomas Widhalm are the talented artisans. They combine their 30 years of experience with a passion for gardening to design & make unique, fun, indestructable garden ornaments.

Chuck says he finds working in his garden not only to be peaceful, but another way to express creativity. He designed his garden using 54 tons of boulders, and planting 1,800 perennials over 1 1/4 acres of mostly shade gardens. After searching for artwork to compliment his garden, and finding nothing that seemed unique or natural, he decided to make his own. He collaborated with his long-time friend and fellow gardener, Tom Widhalm. Together over a period of almost a year, they designed their unique one-of-a kind iron and stone sculptures. They have been adding designs ever since. Their sculptures are crafted from iron and hand-selected Minnesota fieldstone . Their water birds offer a timeless reflection of nature's finest works, adding a touch of serenity to any environment.

Why O Why Are All Those Fieldstones in My Field Again????

New rocks & stones? Why do they pop up every spring here in Vermont? I knew this had to do with the ground freezing and thawing, But how does it actually work??

After much research, I found an eplanation in a kids books about science: Any place that has winters cold enough to freeze the ground might experience the magical appearance of rocks welling up from beneath the surface. This is so common in the eastern U.S. that the rocks are called "New England potatoes."

Here's what makes these stones mysteriously appear. Stones are better conductors of heat than soil, so the stone conducts heat away from the warmer soil beneath it. That colder soil under the rock then freezes before other dirt at the same depth.

Remember that when water freezes it expands. So, when the water in the soil under the rock freezes, it expands and pushes the rock up a little.

When the ground thaws a space is left under the stone which fills with dirt, so the stone rests a little higher. Over a period of time this repeated freezing, expanding, upward push, and filling underneath eventually shoves the rock to the surface.