STONE LIONS

Nicholas Fairplay's presentation will cover the process that he has been involved in since receiving the commission in 2006 to carve four large marble lions for the Utah State Capital Building in Salt Lake City. This includes: research into stone lions that have been carved (or modelled and cast) throughout history as well as the original concrete lions that are be replaced; the creation of macquettes for approval and the subsequent full size foam models; travel to Cararra, Italy to select blocks of appropriate quality; cutting them to 20 tons (US) for shipment (with the off-cuts which he was obliged to purchase) to Nick's studio in Ohio to be carved, and then, the actual carving.

Nick is a classically trained master carver from England. He apprenticed at the age of 16 at Chichester Cathedral in the trade of stone masonry. Apprentices studied to be banker masons, fixer masons or draftsman while attending Weymouth technical college. After completing his apprenticeship, he was hired as a gargoyle and foliage carver at Westminster Abbey. He later studied sculptural modeling and life drawing at the City and Guilds of London Art School. After years of working as a freelance stone carver, he was employed by the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan to train inner city youth to carve the unfinished tower of the Cathedral. Nick traveled back to England and worked for the Department of the Environment restoring and ancient buildings and monuments. He became the lead carver and production supervisor at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Fine Arts Building 3 year carving project. He returned to England once again to carve a marble statue of Ceres for Hampton Court's William of Orange Garden Restoration. Fairplay Stonecarvers was created in San Francisco in 1997. Nick and his wife, Elizabeth relocated to Oberlin, Ohio in 1998. They create high end custom architectural ornament and sculpture primarily in limestone, sandstone and marble.

Visit Nick's website: http://www.fairplaystonecarvers.com/