‘Finding Patience’

PRINCETON — Are you looking for patience? If so, what price would you pay to own it? Would $25 seem like a bargain?

While finding patience can be as elusive as the stream that constantly trickles over the rocks in the creek bed — stopping for no one, Matt Denault is “Finding Patience” in that very stream and the rocks that live there.

Denault, 30, of Princeton has become quite well-known in the area for his art of rock balancing.

Working in that very stream which is never idle, Denault has been able to slow the chaos in his head and create beauty that confounds not just the laws of gravity, but also finds a world that speaks of composure, self-control, perseverance and predominately ... patience.

Denault’s past could be considered troubling for most.

The untimely deaths of his sister and his mother created a huge hole in his heart — a hole in which he ultimately filled with alcohol.

“My world was flipped upside down after the abrupt passing of my sister and mother. I started down a dark path of self destruction, only finding comfort in the bottom of a beer can. My hands shook violently when I didn’t have my crutch. I was losing everything,” Denault said.

“In February of 2013, I quit drinking and haven’t looked back. I was infatuated with how still my hands were becoming. Almost obsessed. I’d assumed that a steady hand would be a must to balance rocks, and now mine were. So, I gave it a shot, and it changed my life,” he said, adding he had always been a fan of well-known rock balancer Michael Grab, but never thought he had the patience or a steady enough hand to attempt the art.

Denault has been balancing rocks since late 2014. Since that time, he’s done about 150 rock formations.

Even with all those balancing acts under his belt, he’s not unlike other artists who will always remember their first piece.

“It was the feeling of letting go; the rocks stood tall and still; it was indescribable,” Denault said of his first rock formation. “So many emotions hit me that morning. I was overwhelmed in the best possible way. I saw the beauty first hand. I was mesmerized. A huge sense of pride came over me.”

Since that first rock formation, Denault’s rock balancing has helped to create a young man, who looks inward for peace, rather than reaching outward and finding frustration.

“I’ve used this art as meditation and therapy. It’s challenged me to look deep inside myself, and be happy with what I find,” he said. “There’s always a constant dance with gravity and Mother Nature. It pushes your boundaries. It’s Earth’s puzzle. It challenges me to balance out negative feelings and reach a true state of calmness. There’s always a new lesson each time I go. I take these teachings back to my everyday life.

“It’s taught me to be patient, to be confident in my own skin and believe in myself. It’s given me a sense of purpose. I’ve found peace and understanding,” Denault added.

Denault, who has a quiet and kind demeanor, is humbled by those who appreciate his art, and he has decided to share the patience he’s found by creating a 2017 calendar, which he dubbed “Finding Patience.”

The calendar features a host of Denault’s rock formations, all captured in full color photographs.

The pages of the calendar also have quotes Denault has found that are meaningful to him and also speak of patience.

“Finding Patience” is $25, and the calendars can be purchased at Hoffman’s Patterns of the Past on South Main Street and at Annie’s Little Pots on North Main Street, both in Princeton.

To those who buy Denault’s calendar — whether for themselves or as a gift — he hopes customers will have the same reaction he has when he performs his art.

“I want people to be baffled and intrigued, to bring joy and inspiration in a different way. To defy the impossible,” he said. “I hope to be somebody’s inspiration.”

See more photos of Denault’s art as well as prints he has for sale on his Facebook page, also called “Finding Patience.”

Denault also plans to attend other events to showcase his prints and his calendar.

Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.