Well, the stone carving weekend was a great success...at least for me. There were about 22 people in all who were carving. Some came just for a day or two. We started our days at 8 am and worked until 8 pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday and from 8 to 3 on Monday.
The site for the event is a Virginia Tech site where students weld, lay brick, and unusual projects of all types are completed. There must have been 4 industrial spaces, but it looks out at the Alleghany Mountains and the weather was perfect. It was possible to work outside, or inside, under a tent, or in the sun.
We were supposed to bring our own lunches, but supper was provided every evening, and with the left overs, I don't think anyone ordered lunch.
The youngest carver is a Junior in High School. The most accomplished and the instigator of this annual event is Darcy Meeker . Many of those attending had been participating in this fall stone carving event for 10 years. The group is a melding of local persons and one all the way from Tennessee, one from North Carolina, one from Lynchburg, but most of us came from Blacksburg or Giles County Virginia. Sharon Dowdy is a wood carver. She took a single stone and cut and polished her final product. It was quite amazing to be among so many accomplished carvers.
I was invited to the event by a friend, Jennifer Lovejoy who is a member of the "Backyard Carvers" in Blacksburg, VA. Darcy Meeker allows a number of artists to come to work in her back yard every Friday. Jennifer is also an architect, and she had designed and supervised completion of some affordable housing developments for me in Giles County. She is a gifted woman...and it was great fun to see her in a new light. And encouraged to attend by a friend Deb Schug, who is a graphic artist, who also attended. Her first work is a limestone goose, from High School.
The master carver, Bob Lockhart is an internationally known carver of wood and stone. He also sculpts and casts bronze works. Bob shared other artist's personal statements regarding their process. On Friday he wanders among the carvers and watches their processes. On Friday evening, just before supper he calls us all together and proposes the "problem". Using clay, build-sculpt a piece that has a rectangle, pyramid, and cylinder in it. We were allowed to slice and dice, or stretch and curve our clay pieces to meet our needs, but we had to use the whole shape, we were not allowed to discard pieces of clay. So that is the Friday evening charge.
Saturday morning we arrive and we are encouraged to use that clay model to create a stone sculpture. And Bob has selected a partner for you. Your job as a novice is to ask if your partner has considered "doing it differently", while your partner will share stone, tools, and their experience to help you pace yourself to be successful in the process. For some Bob instructs them to complete a single piece, for people with less experience it is okay to have multiple pieces...so long as you can assemble them in a finished product.
The site for the event is a Virginia Tech site where students weld, lay brick, and unusual projects of all types are completed. There must have been 4 industrial spaces, but it looks out at the Alleghany Mountains and the weather was perfect. It was possible to work outside, or inside, under a tent, or in the sun.
We were supposed to bring our own lunches, but supper was provided every evening, and with the left overs, I don't think anyone ordered lunch.
The youngest carver is a Junior in High School. The most accomplished and the instigator of this annual event is Darcy Meeker . Many of those attending had been participating in this fall stone carving event for 10 years. The group is a melding of local persons and one all the way from Tennessee, one from North Carolina, one from Lynchburg, but most of us came from Blacksburg or Giles County Virginia. Sharon Dowdy is a wood carver. She took a single stone and cut and polished her final product. It was quite amazing to be among so many accomplished carvers.
I was invited to the event by a friend, Jennifer Lovejoy who is a member of the "Backyard Carvers" in Blacksburg, VA. Darcy Meeker allows a number of artists to come to work in her back yard every Friday. Jennifer is also an architect, and she had designed and supervised completion of some affordable housing developments for me in Giles County. She is a gifted woman...and it was great fun to see her in a new light. And encouraged to attend by a friend Deb Schug, who is a graphic artist, who also attended. Her first work is a limestone goose, from High School.
The master carver, Bob Lockhart is an internationally known carver of wood and stone. He also sculpts and casts bronze works. Bob shared other artist's personal statements regarding their process. On Friday he wanders among the carvers and watches their processes. On Friday evening, just before supper he calls us all together and proposes the "problem". Using clay, build-sculpt a piece that has a rectangle, pyramid, and cylinder in it. We were allowed to slice and dice, or stretch and curve our clay pieces to meet our needs, but we had to use the whole shape, we were not allowed to discard pieces of clay. So that is the Friday evening charge.
Saturday morning we arrive and we are encouraged to use that clay model to create a stone sculpture. And Bob has selected a partner for you. Your job as a novice is to ask if your partner has considered "doing it differently", while your partner will share stone, tools, and their experience to help you pace yourself to be successful in the process. For some Bob instructs them to complete a single piece, for people with less experience it is okay to have multiple pieces...so long as you can assemble them in a finished product.
By Saturday evening one should have all their shapes defined. By Sunday assembly and polishing are underway. By Monday mid-morning there should be a "finished product" and you will share with the assembled group, how your partner came to the design that is presented. They are allowed to respond one time about their finished product. And then all can talk about what moves them and what they see in your work. This was a very enjoyable process for me. Listening to others as they interpret your effort was enlightening, sometimes about yourself, but more likely about the person speaking.
I came away with a greater knowledge of tools. And bought some too. An understanding that the Oklahoma alabaster, that I picked up, is too soft to hold an edge. (not so good for rectangles and pyramids heh?) That this group of carvers are committed to learning, sharing, and teaching.
I will probably do this again....
Oldbikerrider came and made video of the event and I hope at some time to be able to publish it .
