Close to the stone

["Maureen Thompson" <maureen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

    My understanding has grown and I thank you all. Charles asked an
interesting question about stonecarvers whether some "are in love with the
process of stonecarving rather than the broader issue of artistic expression
and accomplishment?" What I would change about his statement so that it is
true for me is, I am "in love with the process of stonecarving because it
allows me artistic expression and accomplishment." I think that is why we
are all involved with stone carving, no? Some of you can double and triple
the mere 8 years I have dedicated to this craft so hearing your opinions
better informs me about the different interests in, and results desired and
attained, from stone.

    George, you had a lot of information to process and an approach to stone
I think many have. Thank you for saying you admire my ability to hand carve.
I would like to respond to some of what you said I hope the forum is okay
with that. What follows is mostly about hand carving letters and has nothing
to do with sculpture. I just felt it important to explain myself and my work
to George.

    "As a letter carver,you would find that carving an inscription on a
granite slab is very hard work." Yes, I do. I think carving an inscription
in any stone is hard, rewarding work. I also think the results I get far
outweigh any letter cut from a rubber mat and blasted by sand.  "If your
project was basic condensed roman lettering , you could do it by hand (but
the serif's would drive you nuts) , using a hammer and chisel, but if you
don't use a carbide tipped chisel, you better pack a lunch!" I carve serifs
all day long, in granite, in slate, in marble, always with a carbide tipped
chisel. If there's good reason to carve a ligature, I will. A important read
for me was Catich's, The Origin of the Serif. I approach the serif as the
entryway into the letter so I treat it as a beautiful beginning to a solid
form, never thinking of it as a burden. I also hand draw every letter with a
brush or pen so very rarely is a typeface like condensed Roman lettering
looked at. After 8 years I know how fast I can cut and when to pack a lunch.
:)

"If you have a lot of work to do and are running out of time, you might try
using an air hammer and carbide chisel to do more , faster, and you might
then have time to do even more work in the area you love." I usually have a
lot of work to do and because I'm the one that takes the client's phone
call, bids the client's work and has the exact text to be carved, I know
exactly how many hours the job will take, give or take. Obviously if it is
on site, there can be some hang ups. I have all the time I need for this
work I love so much.

    And finally, the doozy, "Now, have you gotten farther from doing pure
art? I don't think so." On the contrary, I have gotten farther from doing
pure art; professionally, artistically, personally. By absorbing what was, I
develop what is. I can not learn enough from the masters. I study the books,
I lived in Rome, I carve and carve and carve. I aim to stay true to the
Roman lettering, looking at Arrighi, Tagliente, Palatino, the Trajan column,
John Howard Benson. I started my career as an apprentice in Rhode Island,
for 4-5 years, working every day. My goal was to be good enough to move home
and I did, starting with just a couple gravestones here and there, wonderful
commissions. All the while my work was maturing, my knowledge of the craft
expanding and these developments were seen in my carving. Families and
institutions began to seek me out because of the aesthetic, historical and
traditional qualities of my work. Does this happen to sandblasters? I design
and carve slate/marble uprights that settle into family plots, looking
proper in the environment, that marry elements from the 3-5 existing hand
carved slate/marble markers from generations ago. I carve granite and
limestone monoliths, currently one that weighs in at 18k lbs. I am
contracted to work in historical buildings. The Vanderbilt family hired me
to add an inscription in their family mausoleum on Staten Island. It was
fascinating for me to extract ideas and strength from a Richard Hunt
building. Every inscription in there had been hand carved except one, the
one done before they found a traditionally trained carver. A contractor had
gone in, sandblasted an inscription (as closely as the typeface could get)
and then sprayed lithochrome into it. Well, had this person looked around,
at any of the other 40 inscriptions, they would have noticed that in the
entire 150yrs. not one was treated with color. They now have a 4 page
contract that forbids any sandblasting or pneumatic work. I get farther
personally by working closely with grieving families, developing a
relationship, providing ideas, making sure they are getting exactly what
they want. The ability to draw letters, to study nature and create and carve
the image or ornament that they envision is a fine thing. I work hard at
getting it right, don't we all though? Well, in my profession there are a
lot of monument places out there that get it "good enough". There are a lot
of monument places out there that won't even look at a rose when they blast
the outline of one. If a client brings me a  petunia plant, a clam shell, a
paintbrush, a bronze family crest, I will painstakingly carve it to get it
looking as realistic as I can. I determine whether that is best obtained by
relief/ v-cut, realistic/stylized.

    There are many institutions that request hand carving, the National
Gallery of Art, the National Cathedral, many buildings at Harvard,the
University of Texas, because tradition and craftsmanship are revered. Many
places are discovering the quality of a hand carved letter vs. a sand
blasted one. So I do get something valuable out of it, yes; intangible, but
great. And if you mean farther financially, well, there are a percentage of
people in this world that value, and are willing to pay for, a hand carved
letter because it it unique and powerful, timeless. Schools are asking me to
teach classes in letter carving. I think it's very important to reintroduce
the hand drawn, hand carved letter back into society. I gain more from that
than anything aforementioned. It's important for me to say all of that and I
hope you understand my journey more.
    I also know there are powerful sand blasted pieces, beautiful carved
works completed with pneumatics. Honestly, I have not seen many sandblasted
gravestones/inscriptions I am in awe of. I always find it curious that
people rough out with pneumatics and finish with a mallet and chisel. And
I'm just talking about gravestones.  Let me nip that in the bud before
someone yells at me. ha. I know there are sound reasons for removing stock
with a pneumatic. For me, there is great pride in saying I did all of my
work with a mallet and chisel. My client's share that pride. If I get into
sculpture one day I might very well explore chemicals and power tools but
today I have no need or desire to do so. And now, I'm off to carve some
natural cleft black Monson slate...

Have a great day!
Maureen L. Thompson
Stonecarver

*George, I don't have a website, just own the domain. I would love to send
you a brochure though if you give me your address, I'll even put a photo in,
ooohhh. Thanks, all the best.