To an untrained eye, stone is stone. It takes a special talent to release a stone's inner being — whether it's an abstract of the human body, a fireplace mantle or a monument to those who served their country. Carvers and sculptors work their magic on a wide variety of stone to add beauty and definition to homes, parks and structures.
A piece Morosco completed last year, "The Blood, the Bread and the Bones," incorporates several artistic outlets, including writing. "I actually started with a prose piece. The sculpture's imagery arrived through the vehicle of words," she explained. "Symbols evoked images in my mind's eye, then I translated that into a sculptural language of stone."
The piece consists of three different stones containing a figurative element, a symbolic abstract element and some elements of bronze.
For her projects, Morosco usually chooses limestone and marble because of their consistent nature and general ease to work with. "I also love the concept that limestone is virtually ancient life." She explained, "I draw a lot of energy from the fact that limestone is made up of millions and millions of creatures from ancient sea beds."
"Sculpture parallels the work of the archaeologist," Morosco said. "We dig in the dirt, and we're always looking for the thing that feeds us — and stone sculpture is that primary thing for me."
Beretta was raised around the stone industry in Bedford, Ind. "I had carvers living all around me," he said. "Emery Miller had his home and carving shop behind us. Vasco Marchetti, who came from our family's home in Carrara, Italy, lived up the street." He always kept up with the stone business, working part-time for several mills and a private shop. But it wasn't until the 1990s that he actually went into the business full-time, having worked under the guidance of master carver Frank Arena.
Among Beretta's passions is designing and carving custom fireplaces. "I did them in the mills originally, and I'd like to do more custom projects for clients," he said. Often, a client will have a specific idea in mind, but Beretta also keeps a collection of old books illustrating classic European design for inspiration. "Sometimes, I give [clients] one of the books that goes along with their plan and they get ideas," he explained, "but they usually have me change something to make it more personal. Other times, they just turn me loose to come up with my own design."
The pictured fireplace design was custom-made from Indiana limestone for a residence in Bloomington. It was modeled after a design Beretta had done previously. "The clients looked at it and decided they liked that model, but they'd like me to add some to the design," Beretta said. "I took the basic elements from the originals, changing the florals and the leaf work, to produce a fireplace that was uniquely theirs."
Beretta's material of choice is limestone: Alabama limestone, Texas limestone, Indiana limestone and French limestone. He also works in marbles, including Georgia, Colorado and Vermont. He prefers to use "old-school" tools, such as chisels from Indiana or Europe in addition to pneumatic hammers.
If it had not been for a twist of fate during his childhood, Harold C. Vogel may not have become the steinmetzmeister (master stone carver) he is today. He was born in Detroit, but his family moved back to their German homeland in the early 1930s. Vogel remained there through World War II and afterward entered a challenging stone carver apprenticeship at age 16.
Though Vogel has completed a variety of stone projects and restorations, he's probably best known for his work on public and government projects such as the Presidential Seal for the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids. Another notable project was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac in Washington, D.C., done in conjunction with landscape architect Meade Palmer. Both worked closely with Lady Bird Johnson on the design.
Lady Bird Johnson and Harold Vogel at dedication of Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac in Washington, D.C.
Photo courtesy of Harold C. Vogel
Vogel carved a wood sign at the entrance, as well as the monument that dominates the site. "Originally, Mrs. Johnson was thinking of a small piece of stone for the monument, maybe a few feet high, but I convinced her that it needed to be taller," Vogel said. "She also wanted to use some exposed stone from the LBJ Ranch, but quarried stone would be much more durable." The final piece chosen for the rough-hewn megalith stands 19 feet high and weighs in at 45 tons — fitting for a 6' 3" Texan who had a personality larger than life. Cold Spring Granite Company supplied the Texas pink granite from their Marble Falls quarry — not far from the LBJ Ranch.
In addition to the megalith, Vogel also carved four sets of quotations from the late president on granite pavestones near the foot of the monument. One reads, "I hope it may be said, a hundred years from now, that by working together we helped to make our country more just for all its People. ... At least it will be said that we tried."
Vogel is currently retired from stone carving and consulting, and is the only honorary member of the Building Stone Institute.
Sign at entry of Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac in Washington, D.C., designed and carved by Harold Vogel.
Photo courtesy of Harold C. Vogel
T. Barny
Healdsburg, Calif.
T. Barny, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, has been creating sculpture professionally for more than 25 years in such diverse mediums as hot glass, neon gas, bronze, wood, water, steel and stone. His goal is to create intricate works that reflect the magic and wonder in our world — often provoking the response, "How does he do that?"
Barney's sculpture, "Mistral," was commissioned by a client in Encinitas, Calif. "I enjoy specific commissions because I love working with people and want to bring joy to their space, whether it's on their dining room table or in their garden,," he said. Barney started by choosing a piece of Utah Rhyolite. "I'm one of the few guys I know that's carving this for sculpture," he says. This particular variety of stone was chosen to match the house, which was constructed of redwood and brick.
Displayed on a beach in Encinitas, Calif., this sculpture was carved by T. Barny from Utah Rhyolite.
Photo courtesy of T. Barry
Western Hills, Kanab, Utah, cut the block to 2 x 2 x 8 feet, and Barny began work on the piece during the Southwest Stone Carving Symposium. "Afterward, I brought it back to the studio. It took about a year to complete," he said. Installing the piece was a challenge. Workers lifted it by crane over the house to its final location facing the beach.
A Barny trademark is the mobius — a design he's created in several varieties of stone. "It's more of a Celtic knot, but we call it a mobius because it has one edge and surface," he explained. The pictured example is one Barny started while he was artist in residence at Arco Arte in Carrara, Italy.
From one foot-high tabletop sculpture to corporate monoliths, examples of his work appear in numerous public, corporate and private collections internationally.
Nicholas Benson
The John Stevens Shop, Newport, R.I.
The John Stevens Shop has a long and distinguished history dating back to the early 1700s. "We lay claim to being the oldest continuously operating [shop] on the same location in America," says Nicholas Benson, owner and creative director. The Stevens family owned the business for its first 221 years, until it was sold to Benson's grandfather, an internationally renowned calligrapher, in 1926.
The shop specializes in a few specific areas. "We do gravestone work, which is headstones, ledger stones and personal memorial work, and we get into large architectural inscription work that's done on existing structures," Benson said. "A part of our architectural work is tablets, those are add-ons to buildings."
What distinguishes The John Stevens Shop from production monument companies is the company's classical approach to carving lettering in stone. In this day and age of computer fonts, sandblasting and other forms of mechanical means for incising letters in stone, they produce nearly all work by hand. Lettering is generated with a broad edge brush just as it was done in Rome 2,000 years ago.
One of the company's most well-know projects is the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.. Benson worked on it from beginning to end — two years of design work with the architect and the actual execution. "It's pretty much the benchmark for our style of architectural work," he says. "I designed a typeface specifically for the memorial rather than using an existing one. It was based on my telegraphic form rather than a typographic standard. I created the letter for three-dimensional use, to look good incised on the Kershaw granite used on that particular memorial."
Benson designed all the inscriptions for the particular locations and then made sandblast stencils that were used to hog out the material initially. "We decided to go with a U-cut letter rather than a V-cut letter because the U-cut just grabs a little more light and improves legibility," he said. A rough cut is left from the sandblasting, then the interior is finished by hand carving with a pneumatic hammer.
Carl Berney
Santa Fe, N.M.
According to Carl Berney, "I carve what the Muse sends me, and I carve what resonates with me personally. I tend toward the enduring themes of nature and humanity. I also look for shapes and forms that translate well into my medium, stone. Swirling, undulating and sensuous forms are what stone carvers dream about."
Berney takes different approaches to carving, depending on the project. "When I start a figurative piece, I generally know ahead of time what I'm going to do," he says. "If it's an abstract piece, I just take a piece of stone and start carving it until I see something emerge. Once the basic form has emerged, I refine it."
"Stretch" carved by Carl Berney from Utah Apaloosa Alabaster.
Photo courtesy of Carl Berney
"Stretch," a domestic cat captured in alabaster, is typical of the feline forms Berney has carved. "Cats are so fluid," he says. "They are natural subjects for sculpture." Why this particular pose? "We have several cats here and they're always stretching like that. I thought it would make a neat sculpture." Berney also had the stone sculpture cast in bronze prior to its gallery debut.
"I love working in stone," Berney said. "The shape and feel of it. It is so durable. It's a demanding medium, both physically and mentally, but it's exhilarating when you enter the stone and let it guide you to the final form."
Alexandra Morosco studies the in-progress Texas Limestone element of "The Blood, the Bread, and the Bones."
Photo courtesy of Andreas Kunert
Connecting People with Stone
Do you have any questions about stone? If you're near Seattle, visit the Seattle Stonearium run by the Marenakos Rock Center.
According to Alexandra Morosco, who assisted in creating the venue, "The Stonearium was created as an experiential design place — anyone from homeowners to designers, architects and builders can come in and get 'connected' with stone as well as people who work with stone."
Creators wanted a place where people could come and experience what it feels like to be surrounded by stone, to see fine craftsmanship and to experience the possibilities. Visitors find just that. The building features a library with a fireplace where people can relax, drink wine and browse books about stone as well as portfolios from designers, artists, masons and landscapers.
The Stonearium has enough room to show off 16,000-pound Columbia River basalt columns, granite slabs and other impressive stone samples. The same goes for sculpture, which visitors can see up close through exhibits that change every few months.
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George Kurjanowicz sitting on a Cold Spring Diamond Pink granite carving of his own design commissioned especially for the second annual St. Cloud, Minnesota Granite Festival.
Photo courtesy of George Kurjanowicz |
George Kurjanowicz
Barre, Vt.
George Kurjanowicz has been creating uncommon stone sculpture since 1975, including monumental and fine art pieces. He's also part of the sculptural community in Barre, Vt., known for its craftsmanship in marble — and more recently its community service.
The granite sculpture, an Aztec bench, was donated to the Barre City Elementary and Middle School. "We wanted to do something for the community, and construction of a new school here motivated us to get together to think of some kind of project to do," Kurjanowicz said. "I became involved in the organizational part of the project, but at the same time, being a sculptor, I wanted to make something too — simple to produce yet an aesthetic statement."
There was no budget, and local craftsmen and businesses donated all time and materials. Kurjanowicz secured two pieces of Barre Gray Granite from Rock of Ages (also located in Barre) for the project and tailored the design for ease of construction, so the pieces key into each other like a T. "It was designed so all of the work could be done with a large diamond saw without any real hand work on the part of the people that did the sawing," he said. "I applied the surface to them and used a cup chisel to remove the sawed appearance."
Kurjanowicz was inspired by Inca, Mayan, Aztec and Mesoamerican designs for the children's playground project. "The actual carving work took me about a week, surfacing included," he said. "It's simply one level, the surface, with a sunk line which gives you the shadows where all the designs are located. It's simple, yet effective." He noted that all of these pieces were done on an athletic field next to the school.
The finished product is simple, functional and aesthetically pleasing. "I have always believed that less is more. My choice of materials has also led me in that direction," Kurjanowicz said. "Stone has a way of persuading one to be concise. I view my creativity as a path to be taken rather than an assemblage of random results — each piece leads me to the next. It both reinforces the correct design choices I have made, as well as eliminates the directions that do not serve me well."
Visitors viewed sculptures by Alexandra Morosco and photos by Andreas Kunert last fall at the Marenakos Stonearium Stonefest.
Photo courtesy of Andreas Kunert
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