Graeme Mitcheson – Stone Sculptor, ARBS

In addition to weekend stone carving courses, I am also happy to offer individual stone carving tuition to those who prefer to learn on a one on one basis. This will be equally as intense and hard work however I will be able to monitor your progress more thoroughly throughout the day and give you a more in depth knowledge of the art of carving stone. This might  include discussing suppliers of suitable carving stone for your needs, tools and some handy tips that might be missed in the hurly burly of the normal stone carving weekends. You may wish to specialise in one aspect of carving that I will be able to guide you on more comprehensively. Individual tuition for one day is £120 for your 1st day and £100 thereafter.

As you can see, I have moved the top half of the Kilkenny Limestone sculpture so that I can work at a comfortable height on the bottom piece. Carving work is almost done which just leaves the polishing which is probably one of the most boring jobs on earth.

Moving the sculpture

I move the sculpture using the gantry for slow and careful lifting and also a device called a split pin lewis. This means you can move it safely without risk of damaging edges by using slings etc.

I will be running 2 stone carving weekends in the coming months. The 1st is in April but is fully booked, the 2nd is on the 22nd and 23rd of May, I still have spaces available on this one. The cost is £130 fo the weekend and includes all stone, tools and many cups of tea. The courses are designed to be productive and fun but they are hard work. There are more details on my website at www.chisel-it.co.uk . They are aimed at beginners although many people have returned a number of times to carve more stuff. We try to get everyone to complete a sculpture so they can take it home at the end of the course although some people equip themselves with tools and finish them off themselves. I have been running courses for nearly 15 years and  there have been sculptures of pretty much everything including violins, dolphins, horses, many heads, penguins, pelicans, sundials, naked torsos, water features, abstract pieces, legs, shells and an alien from the movie “Alien”. The oldest person to attend was a lady who travelled all the way from Portsmouth and she was 82, proving that anyone can have a go.