If you weren’t doing this, what do you think you would be doing? I think this found me and I just went for it. When I was doing my masters we had some taster sessions of various things and I found out about the Autumn Trust which does weekend workshops for people who want to learn more about traditional skills and keeping them going. I went on a couple of these weekends and one was about stone carving. We had to try our hands at carving a Tudor rose. From the first time I hit the stone I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Do you ‘suffer for your art’? Not really. I can get a bit lonely working on my own and if you are self employed there is a bit of insecurity. I work outside, in the rain, or lying on the floor so it can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes but I wouldn’t say I suffer for it!
What advice would give to any budding stone carvers? I would say ‘have a go and dive in’. Don’t be afraid of the results – you will get better at it the more you do it. Get a soft piece of stone which won’t take years to carve. Look at church carvings and lettering and try to copy them.
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