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Artisans
in Disguise
or
The University
of Texas Gate Crash of 2010Two
Texas Stone CarversBy
Brewster Hudspeth
TE photos |
Perhaps you’ve once
stood outside a Texas courthouse
admiring the intricate carving of a stone face while awaiting your divorce case
to be heard. Perhaps you’ve wondered if anyone else has noticed how many county
courthouses have been misspelled Covrthovse.*
*Thank you for recognizing
the attempt at humor and not sending a correction.
If you’ve ever
marveled at a cluster of marble grapes or stood transfixed at the folds of limestone
robes, you’ll be pleased to know that the stone carver’s art is alive and well
in Austin, Texas.
“Serendipity
is a vine” someone once said (me). I went on to say that “if allowed to flourish,
its far-reaching tendrils will eventually bear sweet fruit.”
On a sweltering
August morning when the vine of serendipity was in severe wilt, a spur-of-the-moment
trip to a Federal bureaucracy in Austin
went suspiciously well. Disappointed at not receiving even a single roll of red
tape, I was determined to push my luck.
I looked at my notebook for things
the editor wanted me to do in Austin
and found an entry from 2003. I held the faded page up to the light and under
a residue of condiments long-ago consumed, I made out a faint penciled entry:
“Ph-tog—ph Lit-lefield h-use Austin.
Urgent!” |
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| Bequeathed
to the University of Texas by Confederate soldier, cattle baron, banker, university
regent and philanthropist George
W. Littlefield, this home should be on anyone’s short list of Texas’
most beautiful residences. |
Since I wasn’t far
from the University of Texas. I decided that today was the day to retire that
once-urgent request. I entered the university grounds near the Littlefield
House and pulled up to a kiosk to ask where I might park. The attendant, reluctant
to lose his air-conditioning, stuck a hand out the door and pointed to a woman
walking briskly toward a car on the very corner I needed. “She’s just leaving,”
his disembodied voice announced. But her brisk walk was just to the passenger-side
door of her car to find her purse to feed the parking meter.
This caused
me to drive further down the block, past a sidewalk construction site I would’ve
missed had I gotten that corner space. I fed the meter and walked back to photograph
the house. Midway down the sidewalk
a portable screen concealed two workmen who were hunkered-down, looking at a scarred
and flaking cube of Pecos
sandstone. |
| "A
screen concealed two “workmen” who were looking at a scarred and flaking cube
of Pecos sandstone." |
The stone was shimmed
in place by a metal bar sandwiched between two pieces of modern insulation. The
“workmen” were attired in compulsory hard hats and safety vests and you can bet
the ranch that their footwear was steel-toed.
They seemed bemused by the
puzzle that confronted them – namely, balancing this post and matching its size
with its mate – which sat squat, smug and recently-sand-blasted just a gate’s
breadth away.
Their friendly demeanor of the two begged a conversation.
I placed my hand on the rough/ smooth surface of the round finial of the finished
stone – and as the words “nice job” were forming on my tongue, they anticipated
my complement and said in unison: “That’s not our work.” |
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Although their disguise
was clever, it was soon revealed that these workmen impostors were stone artisans.
Both are members-in-good-standing of the Stone Carvers Guild. I know. Who knew?
UT knows. The damaged sidewalk gateway of this august property called for professional
expertise and the people at UT knew exactly whom to call.
Although both
men have their own separate companies, it was obvious that they were enjoying
working on the same project. |
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Any attempt at
describing the exquisite carvings of these two would be woefully inadequate, so
links to their respective websites follow their names.
Stuart Simpson
(left) is the owner of Austin Stone Carving.
His website is www.AustinStoneCarving.com
Matthew Johnson (left) is the owner
of the Bartlett Stone Company.
His site is www.BartlettStone.com
The
men are old enough to have sizable portfolios and young enough to be taking care
of Texas’
detailed stonework for years to come. From the whimsical to the practical, they
are the best artisans this side of Florence,
Texas – where they both studied under the same mentor.
Matthew has
been known to pause between Florence and Texas when mentioning his apprenticeship
– but with an “unspoken wink.”
Long after this particular job is completed
and Matthew and Stuart have been recognized far and wide for their art, most people
passing the Littlefield House
will forget the gate had ever been damaged. But Matthew will remember and Stuart
will remember – and TE will remember and now, you, the reader will remember.
September 23, 2010
© John Troesser |
"Hanieo"
In Progress
Photo
Courtesy Bettie Cross |
| "This
is a picture of me working on a sculpture in our shop. The stone is West Texas
Cream. The piece was eventually completed at an annual carving festival held at
the Vineyard at Florence which is (as the name suggests) a vineyard in Florence,
Texas." - Matthew Johnson |
| "Hanieo
is the name of a Japanese friend who was visiting at the time. Her name means
"Resting Place". The material is West Texas Cream, a limestone quarried in Garden
City, Texas." - Matthew Johnson |
| Photo
Courtesy Terry Raven |
"This
is a picture of a piece titled, "Mercury". The material is Acrylic and Oil on
Lueders Limestone. Lueders Limestone is quarried in Lueders,
Texas."
This piece represents a new direction for me as an artist
that I am very excited about. It is part of a series titled, "Mercury, Nike, and
a boat". - Matthew Johnson
The website address of the Stone Carver's
Guild is: http://stonecarversguild.com
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