stonecarving.us - Portfolio

This is a detail of a relief I carved for a limestone fireplace mantel for a country
home in Stonington, Connecticut. My client's grandmother had been a collector
of antiquities. Among her huge collection were ancient cylinder seals, some of
which were bequested to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These were small
cylindrical pieces of stone which had tiny scenes carved into their surfaces. They
could be rolled over clay tablets and the scene would be transferred to the soft
clay and that would serve as the signature of the king or nobleman. The relief
carving that I designed to decorate the fireplace of my friend was derived from
one of his grandmother's seals. The rest of the fireplace was designed in
collaboration with a prominent New York architect who designed a
comprehensive renovation of the entire house.

This is a fireplace I designed and carved for a mansion on Fifth Avenue in
Manhattan. It is the first major project I undertook after becoming self-employed.
The carving represents a pair of leaves at the lower corners that transform in
several stages into beasts as they rise up the sides and converge in the center,
where they fight. The geometry of the moulding is complex as it curves
simultaneously in the front plane and the side plane. It is made out of Minnesota
marble.

This is a stone vase I made for one of my clients as a present to his wife. It is
made of Carrera marble. There is an egg and dart motif around the top and low
relief carving of flowers and vines on the body and handles. The base is fluted. It
was carved completely by hand (out of one block), not lathed.

This is a wall fountain I designed and carved in limestone for the backyard of a
townhouse on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. It was commissioned by a
gifted interior designer and her Wall Street executive husband for a building
they renovated for their family. The water squirts out of the mouths of the
three faces. One of the faces is shown in detail in the next image.

This is a close up of one of the faces and flanking pillasters and capitals
from the fountain shown above. Notice the rich capitals with their sea
creature motifs.

This is a memorial relief I did in limestone for a young man who was tragically
killed in East Harlem, New York City. He was a custodian in a community music
school and according to the article I read in The New York Times, he was a
friend to all in the neighborhood. The article said that the director of the music
school intended to put up a plaque in the lobby to commemorate the young
man, so I went to her and offered my services. I created this beautiful and
heartfelt sculpture for the money they had raised to purchase an engraved metal
plaque from a trophy shop because I believe in the importance of emphasizing
positive role models, especially in communities where options are few.

This is a foyer table I designed and carved for a New York City apartment
belonging to a distinguished architect and his writer wife and daughter. The
limestone supports represent two different approaches to creativity. The
musician on the right is using sheet music. The one on the left is improvising.
Both are nestled in acanthus leaves, standing on volutes. This demonstrates
my capacity to mix sculpture and precise geometry.

This is a limestone relief I did for Sculpture Review magazine, a publication of
the National Sculpture Society. My friends and mentors had just taken over as
editors of the magazine, and one of their ideas for revamping it was to
commission a new hexagonal relief for each issue. The three figures represent
the past, present, and future. The present is at the top reaching forward to the
future but at the same time fending off the past, who is trying to irritate him with a
stick. The future holds out gold coins in his hands with a dangerous snake
coiled around them. Notice that the future's face is not finished (symbolically).
This piece was exhibited at James Graham & Sons gallery on the Upper East
Side of Manhattan.

I was honored when the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City chose
me to make a sculpture of some of the most revered people of the 20th Century
to stand alongside their existing sculptures representing the heroes of past
centuries. The surrounding carvings were all done in the 1920's, and it was a
challenge to meet the high standards of that period as well as to squeeze four
figures into the same sized niche as the others (each of which holds only one
figure). This carving is made of Champville marble.

I designed and carved this Renaissance-style capital for the Institute of
Classical Architecture. I was commissioned to create a piece to honor a
benefactor of the Institute. This piece highlights my ability to create architectural
decorations which are correct but also inspired and unique.

This is a limestone staircase I did for the interior of a mansion on
Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, just opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The
owners of the building enclosed the roof with a glass ceiling to make an extra
floor. The elevator door was higher than the floor level, though, so they wanted
elegant railings and newel posts to mark the entry to this spectacular space. I
designed the railings with Gothic tracery support rather than ballusters because
it is more interesting. I made similar smaller railings and newel posts in other
areas of the same building as well as three fireplace mantels - one of these is
two pictures down.

I enjoy the opportunity to learn new things when I research projects. When I was
commissioned to create this sculpture, I got to learn a little bit about turtles. I
visited the American Museum of Natural History as well as the local pet shop. It
is a definite goal of mine to infuse my work with factual details when they
harmonize with the overall design.

After I delighted my client with the turtle above, he requested another natural
sculpture. I designed this lively composition of an interesting plant covered with
frogs, turtles, and salamanders as a fountain. Water squirts out of the top of the
plant.

I am very proud of this portrait bust of a friend. It was one of a series that I did,
initially working in clay while the subject posed for me. Later, I made a mold and
cast this sculpture in plaster. As a next step, this kind of prototype can be
duplicated in stone or can be cast in bronze.

The creation of cemetery monuments presents a special challenge. I was
privileged to be asked to create one for my friend, Bishop Paul Moore, Jr.' s wife,
and then a few years later for him. I am proud that I was able to blend a variety of
emblems acknowledging various aspects of their lives into coherent, beautiful
compositions in slate.

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