Stonemason – artist or mason?
Stone has been a frequently used building material for centuries. Due to its durability and resistance to mechanical damage as well as unfavourable external factors it is still frequently chosen. Nowadays, it is used to build external facades of buildings, fences, walls, driveways, pavements, pathways, streets, tombstones, sculptures, reliefs, fences, terraces, stairs and many other parts of both secular and sacral architecture.
Such a wide application of stone puts enormous demands on people working with this material. Technological progress and correspondence of various visual arts penetrating into everyday use have contributed to the development of a new field which is artistic stonemasonry applied in the realisation of various architectural elements. Stonemasons, on the other hand, became known as artists-craftsmen. Nowadays they combine construction skills with art, which enables them to create unique constructions. Nowadays, it is not enough to put paving stones on the pavement in front of the house – you still need to be able to create unique decorative elements which will satisfy the aesthetic needs of the most demanding customers.
Stone carving – a craft that requires above-average precision
Carving is an activity which places great emphasis on manual skills and a high degree of spatial vision. In addition, stonemasons are expected to have extensive knowledge of architectural trends, both in residential buildings and public buildings, as well as an understanding of urban planning and the design of gardens and parks. This knowledge, combined with extensive experience in the construction industry, makes stone carving a highly specialised craft, which allows to produce impressive works in a durable and elegant manner. This is why the stone-carving profession nowadays requires a school-leaving qualification in this field, an apprenticeship or traineeship, as well as various courses or specialist training courses.
What distinguishes stone carving is an above-average precision of each movement which guarantees the highest quality of products. Moreover, the work of a stonemason requires using physical strength when working with raw material with the use of various tools.
Artistic stonemasonry – a timeless art
Nowadays, laying a stone floor or making a tombstone is closely connected with the process of creation. Nowadays, a stonemason is the author of the project who not only built it but also designed it, chose the type of raw materials, their colours and supervised the process of creation from the beginning to the end.
In this line of work one also needs an aesthetic sense to create harmonious, elegant, timeless and solid structures which are often works of art. To sum up, nowadays artistic stonemasonry is a domain of highly qualified specialists who create unique architectural elements with precision. Professional craftsmen know how to turn a piece of stone into a true wonder.
