Stone carvers will lead immersive sessions in limestone carving this summer when the Indiana Limestone Symposium returns for its 20th year.
The Symposium will run June 5-25 in Ellettsville, Indiana, at the Bybee Stone Company grounds, the Symposium announced in a press release Tuesday.
Day- and week-long carving sessions will be offered throughout the Symposium’s duration and will include education on splitting blocks, using tools, lettering and more.
Hand-carving sessions for beginners, which include tools, instruction and two cubic feet of limestone, will cost $50 per day or $200 for a five-day week, as will day sessions for children ages 10-17.
Week-long sessions for beginning or advanced carvers, which include compressed air, a forklift and eight cubic feet of limestone, will cost $800.
Acclaimed Chicago-based sculptor Walter Arnold, best known for his gargoyles and work in buildings including the Washington National Cathedral, will lead sessions, as will Symposium founder Amy Brier and Bybee Stone Company head carver Ned Cunningham, according to the release.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Symposium will also offer an exhibition of limestone carvings at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. The exhibition will open June 3 and last through the rest of that month.
The Symposium has allowed people to experience carving who wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance, Brier said in the release.
“For me personally it is all about the people, and the limestone has become the vehicle with which we have created this community of carvers,” she said.
Jack Evans
