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After a 25 year career in telecommunications, Greg left the business world to pursue his life long dream of a career in stone carving.  He started working in alabaster and soon expanded his works to include marble, limestone and calcite.  He has attended the Marble/marble symposium in Marble, CO for the last three years.  For over a year, in 2007 / 2008, he further developed his skills and experience while working alongside the various carvers at, The Purple Door Studios in Denver, CO.  In addition, he has attended several classes including Anatomy for Sculptors and Sculpting the Female Form - Colorado Academy of Art and Portrait Sculpting with Phillippe Farau.  Most recently, his work has been shown at The Redstone Art Gallery in Redstone, CO, Access Gallery in Denver, CO, and the Westerly, RI Sculpture exhibit.  Greg’s current studio space is in Medford, MA at the Hillside Sculpture Studios and he is now being represented by the Walsingham Gallery in Newburyport, MA.

Statement

I started exploring the medium of stone sculpting out of frustration with drawing.  I once mentioned my struggle to accurately capture the image of a face to a friend and he suggested carving it in alabaster.  I knew instinctively from the first blow that physical contact with three dimensional space was what had been missing all along.

I didn't know this when I began carving, but the method that came to me naturally is known as direct carving.  The first few pieces of stone I tried were relatively soft and easy to work and were developed out of natural shapes.  I used my imagination and carved what I saw in each stone.  As I evolved as an artist, I became more comfortable approaching squarely cut blocks of stone.  With time and experience I have become much more adept creating designs in foam, cement or clay maquettes and then transferring those to stone.  However, I still prefer the more spontaneous aspects of direct carving.

Over the past three years I have tried to learn as much as possible about different types of stone.  I made the jump from softer stones such as alabaster to much harder stone like marble and granite right away.  Since then, I have experimented with limestones and calcite as well.  I find that each type of stone affects the end result and often in surprising ways.  So far, I think I have been fairly lucky in that the occasional natural 'feature' that appear on my forms seem to augment my work.  I attempt to control as many factors as I can before carving begins.  Understanding how elements like bedding plane (basically like the grain in wood) and how the natural movement of a stone like calcite can rob a form of detail is essential.  Ultimately, unpredictable objects (e.g. shells, crystals or veins) appear and have to be dealt with in context.

The leap to harder stones dictated that I augment my hand tools and become familiar with a host of new power tools.  At first, I was reluctant to lose the direct contact and connection with the surface that hand tools allow.  One of the great things about hand tools like hammer and chisel is that - they are slower and afford one the opportunity to make adjustments.  The problem with hand tools is - they are slower.  Power tools enable you to get down to your final surface much much faster.  It has taken some time, but I have been able to get into the same zone or rhythm - almost a meditative state that I was able to achieve with my original tools.

There are many aspects of stone sculpting that appeal to me and have evolved into intriguing lessons and knowledge.  But, the part that I enjoy the most remains the physical act of carving. The instant of recognition as I expose the form or line under the surface is the magic of this art.  The intense, intimate contact between the tip of my blade, chisel or file and the surface that unveils what I know lies beneath is what beckons me.

 2008 Events

October 4 - October 31, 2008:  Walsingham Gallery, Figuratively Speaking

October 17 - November 16, 2008:  Rutland, VT Exhibit  

July, 2008 - June, 2009: Longmont, CO - Art On The Move, Art in Public Places

July 13 - August 22, 2008: Westerly, RI Exhibit

July 2 - 9, 2008:  Marble/marble Symposium - 20th Anniversary

June 19 - 21, 2008:  Portrait Sculpting with Philippe Faraut

March, 2008 - Juried member of the New England Sculptors Association (NESA)

2007 Events

October 19 - November 21, 2007: Access Gallery, "It's About Touch - a tactile event"