FALLBROOK: Stone carvers practice a rare, physically taxing art form

Nonprofit artists group in Fallbrook seeking new members

By TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 29, 2008 5:00 PM PST ∞

FALLBROOK ---- Turning a hunk of alabaster into a work of art is not something many people know how to do.

It involves a pneumatic chisel, files and sandpaper, and a good eye and steady hand.

Elbow room and a little camaraderie don't hurt, either.

That's why a small group of artists from across Southern California make the trek to Fallbrook to practice stone carving at an outdoor studio at the Fallbrook School of the Arts, 310 E. Alvarado St.

Dave Thor, unofficial spokesman of the Amato Stone Carvers group, said last week that the studio is a rare gathering place for those who shape stone.

"Believe it or not, none of our artists are from Fallbrook," Thor said. "We have one person from Rainbow, and one lady who comes down from Pasadena three times a week. Poway, Carlsbad, Del Mar ---- a lot of people are driving 45 minutes to get here."

"We have attorneys, we have doctors, businesspeople, retired folks. We have all different types of personalities here, but they're all here to work, and there's a good camaraderie going on."

Some members take advantage of the studio during the week, but Saturdays, Thor said, are always busy.

About half of the 10 artists in the group carve pieces to decorate their own home, while others sell their pieces ---- for as much as thousands of dollars. The members work mostly with alabaster, marble and soapstone.

Thor said the nonprofit group is accepting new members, who for $150 a month receive 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week access to the facility.

Newcomers are welcome to try it for a month, Thor said.

"We're willing to give some instruction and let them try the place out for a month at no charge," he said.

Studio space

The carving studio sits in the school's backyard, so to speak ---- a shade shelter with pressurized lines running overhead to an air compressor in a nearby shack. Each workstation has its own compressor line.

Dave Thompson, an attorney in Carlsbad, said he wasn't sure about making the drive to Fallbrook when the Amato carving group moved from its original location in Vista three years ago.

But he said he learned to appreciate Fallbrook's focus on promoting the arts and still enjoys working around other artists.

"I've learned a lot from just sitting around the lunch table, listening to people who have a much greater academic knowledge of art," Thompson said Friday.

The carvers keep about three tons of stone on hand ---- pieces that weigh up to 800 pounds ---- but artists are free to seek out other raw material, Thor said.

Stone outlets are few and far between, he said.

"The closest place is in Ventura ---- they have a big carving community ---- and people go there to get stone," he said.

He said shipping is only a practical option with smaller pieces, pointing to a foot-square piece of soapstone lying on his workbench. The waxy block weighed 93 pounds, he said.

"I wouldn't have anything bigger than this shipped because it's just too expensive," he said. "Most of the stone that we have comes from Colorado, New Mexico and Mexico."

He said even some who start carving as a hobby eventually sell their work.

"The house is full of it now, and people come over and go, 'Where'd you get all this stuff?'" he said. "And you say, 'Well, I make it.'"

Patience: A rock carver's virtue

Thor said stone carving is more like metal sculpting than painting because it is a highly physical activity.

The artists wear eye and ear protection and gloves, and after four or five hours, everyone is usually ready for a break.

It's not as dusty as you might imagine, he said.

"When you're working with a pneumatic hammer, dust does not come off, only chips," he said. "The only time you get dust is when you're grinding."

About 90 percent of the shaping is done with the air-powered chisel, then the hand tools come into play. Sandpaper takes it the rest of the way.

He said his pieces take an average of 80 hours to complete.

"Some people work longer," said Thor. "There's a piece here whose artist has been working on it for 200 hours. But she's also the one who'll get $20,000-plus for her pieces."

Thompson said he considers himself more of a hobbyist than a professional. He gives pieces to clients and friends, and donates one carving a year to the YMCA.

"It is an outlet for me, because the type of work we're doing in stone requires a certain amount of strength and a great deal of concentration," he said.

Because of the nature of stone carving, mistakes can be costly.

"It's subtractive art, as opposed to additive art," said Thompson. "If you're doing something out of clay, or even if you're welding, if you make a mistake you just pile on more clay or metal. If you make a mistake when you're cutting stone ... you have to start all over."

In the end, though, carving stone is fulfilling, he said.

"You start with a piece of stone, and think, 'Well, maybe I can do this' ---- you have a thought in your mind of where you're going," Thompson said.

"You get about halfway in and see a shape forming out of this piece of rock, and because it's creative and you're the creator, you begin to fall in love with the project."

For more information about the Amato Stone Carvers, contact the Fallbrook School of the Arts at (760) 728-6383.

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.

More information:

-- Fallbrook School of the Arts

-- Wiki on the history of stone carving

-- AboutStone.org "Virtual Library" of resources and links for stone carvers