Binkley Prepares for Sorrento Carving School

I have purchased all the stone for the students that will be participating in my limestone carving workshop at the Shuswap School of Carving & Arts.

I paid a visit to my limestone supplier, Architectural Stone Masonry in Abbotsford, BC last week to purchase 1,200 pounds of buff coloured limestone from Indiana, USA. I hauled it back to my studio and proceeded to split the large blocks into these pieces (above) for the students. Some have pre-ordered special sizes, as they already have a project idea in mind.

This stone is soft enough for beginners to learn with, yet durable enough so any resulting sculpture can live outdoors for years. Indiana limestone is used extensively for architectural purposes. The Empire State Building is veneered completely in this stone and the National Cathedral in Washington, DC is made entirely from it. The gentle, monochromatic colour and smooth texture of this limestone makes it wonderful for fine art sculpture, too.

While the raw blocks don’t look like much, each piece will be transformed next week during the workshop.

I’ll post some of the results when I get back….