ABOUT ARTISAN STONEWORKS- Benjamin Purscell is a stonemason by trade. He estimates that he has shaped, tooled, placed, (broken) or otherwise handled over 9.5 million pounds of stone. Art and self-expression have always been greatly important to him, creativity a necessity. He has written poetry (1996 runner-up in the Bucks County Poet Laureate Contest), and performed on stage as "Dusty Mason" with his slop-rock, cowpunk band Grave Cowboys, opening for national music acts Drive-By Truckers and Commander Cody along the way. His stone art may be roughly hewn or delicately carved- balanced, or assembled. The contexts range from totally abstract to figurative works. Found objects are employed in the "beasts of burden" series, rusty tools and machine parts applied to sculpted stone critters. PUBLIC PRIVATE- Gravestones/ Memorial Benches: Kristofor Stonesifer, New Britain, PA US Army Ranger KIA in Pakistan 10/19/01, he and a fellow soldier were the first U.S. military casualties after 9/11/01. John and Elinore Michalik, Lehighton, PA. David Joseph Newton, Lehighton, PA Liza Jane Martin, Sellersville, PA