Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to you all, and may you enjoy

the best Christmas present ever;

 the endless, bountiful, unconditional love of God

through Jesus Christ.

Portsmouth Cathedral Plaque

The finished Portland stone plaque for Portsmouth cathedral, to be installed early 2012

A view of the studio

A collage of myself at work in the studio. Photo's by Helen Smith at Reflectionz Photography.

Jacob Bronowski

I was recently asked to carve the inscription on the Portland stone plinth for the bust of Jacob Bronowski now situated in Jesus College, Cambridge.

This excellent bust was sculpted by Robert Hunt, Honorary Secretary of the Society of Portrait Sculptors and cast in Bronze by Talos Foundry.

My initial rough layout of the inscription and a 'clean' version which was then transferred onto the stone.

With a sheet of carbon paper underneath my drawing, I simply trace the design onto the stone. Often I prefer to draw letters directly onto the stone, in this instance however it was helpful to first set out the inscription on paper so that Robert Hunt could approve the position and layout of the lettering.

Carving the inscription at Talos Foundry, Project Workshops.

My hands at work!

The finished inscription.

And finally...

Here is Henry Gray setting special fixings into the stone, carefully aligning the bronze bust in the Talos Foundry workshop. The bust is wrapped and slung so that it can be carefully lifted and lowered into position by hoist.

Jacob Bronowski, by Robert Hunt, safe and secure shortly before his trip to Jesus College, Cambridge. There the bust was unveiled and received with adulation.

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Boy Sailors Memorial Newsletter

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=3363282&da=y

Follow the above link to view the newsletter outlining the boy sailors memorial stone for Portsmouth cathedral I've been working on. This gives details of the dedication service for 2012 as well as an update on the project.

A new memorial

I've just started carving a new memorial headstone from a lovely piece of Portland stone, shown below the design...

...and the initial carving, roughing out the shape.

Blessed are they that mourn

A close up from an unusual angle of my letter carving in Portland stone, painted bright blue!

'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted'

Salisbury cathedral cloister monument

Here is one I restored the lettering on about six years ago. This lovely little plaque is situated in the cloisters of Salisbury cathedral, Wiltshire U.K. The marble was cleaned and restored by the conservation dept. of Salisbury Cathedral Works Dept. (est. 1240 AD).

I re-cut the letters where necessary and re-painted the inscription. This style of lower case letters commonly found in the late 18th century are some of my most favourite. At this time we begin to see a time of change from localised vernacular lettering to the beginning of carved inscriptions which are increasingly influenced by printed letter-forms. This change coincides with advances in printing technology and the rise of 'copy books' of art design, widely used in all creative disciplines.

However these lovely letters still retain a degree of looseness and freedom.

Granville Sharp tomb

About three years ago I was involved in the restoration of the inscription of Granville Sharp's tomb in London. He was the father of the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement and laid to rest in All Saint's churchyard, Fulham, London. U.K.
His memorial was disassembled and carefully rebuilt by Minerva conservation who then called upon me to restore the lettering. I first carefully pencilled over the extant lettering, then using a fine tipped chisel (2mm and 4mm depending on size of letter) and a zinc alloy dummy (letter cutters 'mini-mallet'), re cut the entire inscription, going over what was already there, deepening the cut and sharpening up the outside line of each letter. Finally a coat of paint was given to restore the letters to their original legibility. I used a weatherproof enamel paint, a very dark grey, so as not to look too stark, as black would tend to.

Granville Sharp's Portland stone tomb, repaired and restored before the inscription was re cut

There was a great deal of debate as to whether this would entail 'over-restoring' the tomb, but in this particular instance it was deemed appropriate owing to the important historical significance of Granville Sharp and his contribution to the abolition of the slave trade, and the fact that the tomb is a popular destination for local school outings. Quite simply the pupils needed to be able to read the inscription. I worked in situ for a week, and enjoyed the peace and quite of this gorgeous churchyard in the heart of London. Back breaking work though, working so close to the ground!

The re cut inscription is barely visible, but the painted letters bring the inscription back to its full glory

The completed inscription

Carving in slate

A lovely photo of my carving in slate of a Robin.

Photo by Kenton Brock

Naval badge in Portland stone

Shown here is a detail of the Royal Naval badge I carved in Portland stone as part of the Boy Sailors memorial destined for Portsmouth cathedral (see earlier post). I really enjoyed carving this, though the detailing on the crown was a challenge, especially as the stone will be laid in the floor, so although I've tried to include as much fiddly detail as possible I've had to bear in mind this will also be walked on so mustn't be fragile.

Robyn's robin...a carving in slate

Roman Headstone

The carving of a Roman style memorial from Portland stone.

Skulls

I've always had a particular fondness for memorials with depictions of skulls!

Here are a few choice 17th & 18th century examples from various locations across the south of England.

St Mary the Virgin, Bramshott, Hampshire

Detail from a box tomb, St Margaret of Antioch, Chilmark, Wiltshire.

St Mary's, Westerham, Kent.

St Mary's, Westerham, Kent.

Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.

Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.

Portsmouth Cathedral, Hampshire

Portsmouth Cathedral

Portsmouth Cathedral



St Margaret of Antioch, Chilmark, Wiltshire

I've been asked to add an additional inscription to a memorial I carved at least 10 years ago at Chilmark church. The stones have certainly been subject to vigorous lichen growth, but should clean up nicely. It's been a real pleasure to see these again as I'd had forgotten quite how the triptych looked; plus I was pleasantly impressed with the quality of work done by my younger self!

Sadly, these three stones stand as the memorial to three young sisters all killed in a house-fire. The main central stone bears their names and the two smaller stones each carry a quote;

"The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" & "The moment of the rose and the moment of the yew tree are of equal duration."

Despite the weathering the carving is still nice and crisp.

St Margaret of Antioch

A view of the church in the November afternoon sunlight. The interior of the building was heavily Victorianised ('over' restored in the 19th century) but the churchyard is a real treasure trove of delights. Here are a few highlights...

A fabulous little painted cast iron memorial still with plenty of paintwork. Quite a rarity.

One of a pair of delightful 17th century box tombs. Judging by the style and execution of the profusion of skulls these were perhaps both made by the same hands...or carved in the same workshop?

I do have a particular fondness for memorials with carvings of skulls. Our ancestors seemed to have had a much healthier attitude towards their mortality than perhaps we enjoy today.

A perfect example of an early 19th century stone, beautifully lit by the afternoon sun. 

              A row of Victorian stones stand as sentinels to the passage of time in the north west corner of the churchyard.            

Boy Sailors Memorial Stone

I've been given the honour of designing and carving the memorial stone to boy sailors killed in World War 2 which is destined for the west end floor of Portsmouth cathedral

My original scale sketch produced after the initial meeting with the client at Portsmouth cathedral. Each commission starts with a hand drawn design for approval. I work as closely as possible to the final version

The Naval Crest set out in pencil onto the stone prior to carving

Working from the scale sketch the inscription is laid out directly onto the stone. All this is done freehand & by eye. A lot of drawing and re-drawing at this stage is necessary to ensure a well balanced and evenly spaced layout. The human eye is the only reliable guide! This stage of the process took about two days.

When I am happy with the final layout, carving can begin. I work from the bottom up, left to right. This photo shows the tip of the tungsten carbide chisel in my left hand.

And here I am with the zinc alloy dummy slowly and carefully carving each letter. Note how my index finger and thumb rest on the head of the dummy for better control with fine carving.

Carving continues, carefully and slowly with Radio 3 for company!

Carving progresses on the badge.

The inscription is painted with enamel paint to aid legibility as the plaque will be laid in the floor of Portsmouth cathedral. I've chosen a battleship grey colour.

For more details about the project see the BBC news link below

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-15399284