Innovation struck early in Josh Frazier’s life.

After all, he made his own skis when he was in high school. He evolved into an artist, a painter and a photographer.

“I attended Welches schools and graduated class of 1995 at Sandy High,” Frazier said. “Spending my childhood on the Mountain I was given the tools early to explore and build a strong bond with the natural elements that surround this community.”

He hiked the rivers, skied the mountains, and “listened to the wind and rain.”
His future took a sharp turn while a server at The Skyway in Zigzag. He talked
the owners into letting him build a fountain in the patio.

“He really got after the rock work,” said Tom Baker, co-owner of The Skyway.
“I could tell he was going to be creative with his hands. He was good at his
job, but people like him need to do something their heart is into.”
Customers remarked about his stonework at the restaurant.

“I was shameless,” Frazier said. “I’d hear people talking about the fountain
and I’d talk to them about it. Tom and Tracie (co-owner) allowed it. Getting
trust in a server to build a patio in a home wasn’t easy. It was kinda’ like
‘How’s your brisket? Would you like a stone fountain?’”

By now Josh had become a father and a devoted partner. And he was quickly
becoming a stone mason and landscaper.

“I had never cut a stone before, but I always liked bonsais and stained glass,
so I applied the concept. My first job there was a lot of anxiety. I had never
cut a stone before. But I nailed it the first try.”

His business – called Grounded Perspective – was formed and his life’s calling
was just a few patios ahead.

Inspired with the connection and symmetry in nature, and utilizing natural
stone, wood and steel – be it a wall, patio or pathway – he made a niche for
himself building strong, timeless features that worked harmoniously with the
surrounding environment.

Josh has worked on two occasions with Lynn Carver, of Tualatin, fashioning
the spectacular trillium patio featured in a photo on this page.

He tore down a stairwell in a forest cabin. By his own admission, he was only
supposed to repair it, but he wanted to look deeper.

“I saw what they had done back in the 30s,” he said. “There was a language
there, and I had to learn it.”

This inquisitiveness continued, as he forged for new perspectives, and old
ways of doing things. He was attracted to an architectural forum for masons
and landscapers in Seattle –called Stonefest – and he received instruction in
granite carving, masonry, water features and landscaping.

Stonefest has created an ancient village called Marenakos, where Josh has
studied. Here, his bond with natural elements was realized.

“The ground is the medium,” he said. “The perspective is the art.”

Grounded Perspective’s website is under construction and will soon be found
at www.groundedperspectiveoregon.com. Frazier can be contacted at 503-
502-6927.

“It’s a long road when you start with a shovel and a wheelbarrow,” Frazier
concluded.

Or as Baker from The Skyway put it: “I’d sure like him to do some more work
here, but I’m afraid he’s too busy.”