Rock Artist Sees Gravity of Situation

Stuart Finch’s crystal blue eyes grew wide with excitement as he talked about a stone Christmas tree he constructed on the beach at Surfers Point several weeks ago.

Several people who saw the homeless man’s rock pile, towering 6 feet high and clearly in the shape of a tree, joined in Finch’s enthusiasm, donating toys and other ornaments. Someone even gave him a few strands of lights, which he plugged into a nearby light pole with a 12-foot extension cord.

“It was the first tree I’ve had since I was 14 years old,” the transient said Thursday, his voice suddenly as soft as a small child’s.

But that tree, and several other rock structures Finch has built in the past several months, were torn down by city workers Tuesday morning. The piles, they said, were a safety hazard. The mounds of heavy rocks, they reasoned, could topple and injure someone, maybe a child.

“The rocks really aren’t held together with anything other than gravity,” Councilman Jim Friedman said in an earlier interview. “And the bottom line is that the city has the ultimate responsibility for public safety.”

Even Finch, 37, acknowledges that some of his creations, which have become well-known to beach-goers, could have been risky--like his 12-foot “Millennium Structure,” made out of everything from small pebbles to heavy round boulders and propped upright by a large log.

“I guess they could have been talking about that one,” Finch said. “That one was pretty big.”

Officials said a couple of parents called the city recently concerned that the rock sculptures were a hazard to nearby children at play.

Still, Finch believes the city just overreacted.

“I’m just trying to cheer people up, get some people to smile,” Finch said. “I guess there’s always someone down the line that can’t stand to see people smile.”

Finch, who said he spends nearly all of his time at the beach surrounded by his structures, was not around when the rocks were dismantled. He has been in the county’s main jail since Monday, when he was arrested for failing to pay a bill at a Ventura motel. He pleaded guilty to that charge on Monday afternoon and was sentenced to five days in jail.

Thursday night, Finch learned that his Christmas tree, Millennium Structure, and other works were gone. Finch spoke about his assemblage artwork during a jail interview.

City officials said they have tried to talk to Finch in the past, asking him to keep the rock structures small enough so that they would not pose a safety risk. Usually he agrees to their requests, officials said. But the tall towers of rock have continued.

Finch denied that city officials had ever spoken to him about the safety risk.

City Manager Donna Landeros said earlier that if Finch wants to return to the beach to rebuild some of his works, he is welcome to do so. The creations will remain, she said, as long they are under 1 or 2 feet high.

As for Finch, he said Thursday that the destruction of his art hasn’t gotten him down. As soon as he is released, he will head straight for the beach to start anew--that is, after retrieving his stash of blankets, pictures and other personal items stored under bushes in Ventura.

“I’ve got to make sure my stuff’s still there,” he said, a frown creasing his brow. “Then I’ll be back. They can’t stop me. The rocks are there, I’m just rearranging them.”

Nevertheless, Finch seems to have gotten the city’s point.

“Maybe this time I just won’t build them so high,” he said.