Slate- Blaenau Ffestiniog

["Judy Buswick" <jt.buswick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, Ann.
I'm not sure which side of the Atlantic you live on, but I'm assuming
you are not in the US or you wouldn't be looking for slate from Wales.
(You'd get material from US quarries and/or buy it at a stone yard.)  I
can give you the names of a few places in Wales to contact about getting
slate, but from the interviews I've done with artists, most go directly
to the quarries and pick over the stock available or place an order to
the size and quality of stone they're after.

I've worked on a book about how slate is used in art and have been
waiting almost two years now for it to appear on bookstore shelves.
It's been quite a long project.  And your questions about outdoor
durability are not quick-answers.  The durability of the slate depends
on the quarry (and its mineral content), and the depth from which it was
extracted.  The country of origin (or the state) has a reputation for
slate durability, but then individual quarries are even more sharply
defined. (Pennsylvania is typically known for soft slate, but it has
pits of hard slate, too.) The age of the slate or its weathering may
make a difference in your relief carving.

But, that said, why don't you phone the quarries or check their Web
sites and see who offers what?  I know there is at least one quarry in
Corris, Wales, that sells to artists, but I don't have a phone number.
The two Blaenau Ffestiniog contacts I have are:
Gloddfa Ganol Slate Mine
44 (0) 1766 830664

Llechwedd Slate Caverns
44 (0) 1766 830306

You might also try Inigo Jones, Tudor Slate Works in Groeslon, near
Caernarfon, since they are a working slate yard.  The Web site there is
http://www.inigojones.co.uk and their phone number is 44 (0) 1286 830242.

Another slate yard in North Wales is J.Williams & Co. in Pwllheli, the
manager's name is Mike Sol Owen; but I don't have a phone number that I
can find.

I'm always happy to hear that carvers are using slate and I hope when my
book comes out it will show off the beautiful and quite varied
applications artists have used.

Stephen at Dolpebyll asked in a recent letter to on-line carvers here
about splitting slate.  I've never done it myself, but I've watched
quarrymen split both large and small tiles in Pennsylvania, Vermont,
Maine, and Llanberis.  It's always a case of splitting a piece in half
and then in half again.  Some of the old Welsh fans made of slate have
blades that go as thin as 32 pieces from a one-inch block of slate --
using a razor blade on those last splits.  At one demonstration, the
quarryman invited people to come up and try the mallet and chisel.  Most
were successful after a tap or two.  So, the right tools are probably
key, though a lifetime's experience would make it look easy.

I hope I've helped.  I've certainly enjoyed reading the discussions here
-- even though I'm not sculpting.
Judy Buswick in Massachusetts

-----Original Message-----
From: stone-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:stone-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Petropict@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 9:21 AM
To: stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [stone] Slate- Blaenau Ffestiniog

Can anyone tell me who I would talk to about getting some Blaenau
Ffestiniog
slate to carve?  How thick do the block get?
     Could anyone tell me about durability in exterior applications of
different slates?  I need some info for a client.  I have been carving
slate
bas reliefs for around thirty years and I love the stuff but I must
admit I
don't know much about different kinds, I use Pennsylvania and Italian
slates
for interior applications.  I would love to know more.  Ann