Stone Carving Class

Santa Chiara offered a stonecarving class taught by a local stonecarver. I unfortunately didn't take the class as I thought I'd be too busy. Near the end of the quarter, Karen and I went out to the class with the boys to take pictures and see what they were up to. I had gone by the studio a few weeks earlier and was very impressed, so I really wanted to see the projects closer to completion. The class is held at Bruni, the stone carver's house in the valley.


View outside of the city walls just below school. We headed down the road below past the house in the front.


We continue through the olive orchard, and out left past the nursery, which are the stripes in the center of the picture. Bruni's is about a kilometer further down the road.





Bruni is the man on the right. What a character! He has a fantastic laugh. The man on the left is one of his childhood friends who grew up in the valley, but has been living in Australia for the last 25 years. Earlier, he had been using a tractor to put a lid on a well when he noticed a little frog in the well. He went to go rescue the frog before capping, and while bending over, his cell phone slipped out of his shirt pocket and into the well. So then he bent over further to try to reach the phone, and, you guessed it, he fell in! He showed me his sopping wet wallet while telling the story! Bruni and I were giggling like schoolgirls! Bruni was trying to get his friend to agree to re-enacting the event!


Laura, Karen and I taking pictures of the boys working. This is the classroom studio, and Bruni's gallery is next door. In addition, he paints, and has them displayed in another room.


Eric and Joel with two Texas students. These guys were all really nice.


Joe working away. This is his second attempt at this piece...The first one cracked, and he had to start over. apparently drilling a hole through stone with a chisel and hammer is harder than it sounds.


Dillon's project...it started off square, and took him forever and a lot of patience to get it this smooth and round.


Eric is creating a relief wave...perfect tube.


Joel concentrating on his design


This is Joel's piece...so beautiful. (Woodpecker and acorns). Bruni made the chisel and hammers for each student, and they get to keep them.


OK, so the real reason we went out there is that we heard Bruni gives out chocolate!!!!!!


Bruni made this dresser out of stone! The drawers all slide perfectly. The jewelery doors just below the mirror work effortlessly as well.


Bruni's gallery. This tree died in his yard, so he built the studio space around it.


He carved these balls inside the two flat pieces, and the whole thing spins!


Bruni started off carving stone fireplaces. Wish I could afford to ship one of these home...and buy it in the first place!


Many of the photos in the background are of Bruni with celebreties and politicians. He currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest stone chain! It's made from one piece of stone.


The persimmons in his garden (and everywhere else) were blowing my mind...the colors are so beautiful.


Bruni's front garden



I had to get back home and work on my paper, so I walked back alone. It was a gorgeous afternoon. Here's Monteccio. Yes, I'm obsessed with this castle. I guess it's all the Monty Python I watched in High School (and now!).



Amazing tree!!!!


I love this church. The nursery is in the foreground...lots of nice, different color conifers.


This is the local 'weedy' malva species. Wish ours had a flower this pretty...then we wouldn't have to weed it out of the garden!


Borage plant with ladybug. Another wonderful afternoon in Italy!