Stone carving.

In which Sid and Doris start their stone carving apprenticeships

Living in Salisbury we have become interested in the cathedral and how it was built. When you come to visit Doris will give you a very well informed tour. In time Doris will be a tower guide so the tour can be two hours longer. And it will be vairy interesting.

Sid and Doris read Andrew Ziminski’s ‘The Stone Mason, A history of building Britain’ which combines that broader history with episodes from his life working with stone from pre-historic constructions to maintaining cathedrals now. It is written for a general reader, unlike some of the architectural texts which are as unapproachable as a book on technical sail trim.

Doris spots Henry Gray’s stone carving course out at Bowerchalke, in la Wiltshire profonde. Before you can say ‘the course starts is a month’s time’ Sid and Doris are in Henry and Tam’s workshop with maybe eight others (mostly quite experienced) learning to carve in a supportive and encouraging environment.

We start with two blocks of stone, pencils, chalks, chisels and a dummy (hammer). Sid picks a classic flower design to copy. Doris has decided to make a number 82 with a font in the style of the Paris metro. So, Sid on the left and Doris to the right at the end of week two here below.

Below you can see that the voids are being made but so far there is no contour. You can see the foliage drawn on Doris’s Portland stone. Sid has a softer Bath stone.

Below Sid has started to cut the leaf shapes so they will flow from centre to petal tip and eventually across the leaf. Doris has started on the leaves. Henry comes by every half hour or so to demonstrate a technique or to rescue a shape, such as when one of Sid’s leaves loses its poetic curves. Or when an obstinate snail fossil makes us a bit cautious at a leaf tip.

Above you can still see the flat at the crest of Sid’s leaves and the button still square sided. We have not yet used the bull nose chisel for the rounding, nor the pointy chisel for the pecking of the background. Doris’s 82 has all of its design and is becoming more detailed. And below the finished articles, now at home awaiting wall mounting.

And there they are with S and D to give scale.