Stone carving festival comes to Montreal for 1st time

CBC
Mon, July 24, 2023 

Forty stone carvers from three different provinces participated in this year's Canadian Stone Carving Festival in Montreal's Place d'Armes. (Valeria Cori-Manocchio/CBC - image credit)

Sitting under a large canopy tent in Montreal's Place d'Armes, Danny Barber, with his hammer and chisel in hand, worked away at his sculpture of a goldfinch perched on a tuque.

This is his fourteenth year organizing the Canadian Stone Carving Festival which is meant to raise public awareness around the craft.

"Really you only see carving in museums or gift shops, you don't see the person making it," he said.

Typically held in Ottawa, Barber decided to bring the event to Montreal this past weekend. It was part of a partnership with Alexandre Maquet, the co-founder of a local stone carving organization, Les Ateliers de la pierre du Québec.

Maquet says that for many years he and other stone carvers from Quebec had been travelling to Ottawa for the festival so it only made sense for there to be a Montreal edition.

"We have this amazing spot right in front of the church and we're surrounded by all these buildings with beautiful stones so we're pretty happy," he said.

Danny Barber founded the Canadian Stone Carving Festival in 2010. He hoped that by bringing it to Montreal he could meet new carvers and expose the craft to a new audience.

Danny Barber founded the Canadian Stone Carving Festival in 2010. He hoped that by bringing it to Montreal he could meet new carvers and expose the craft to a new audience. (Valeria Cori-Manocchio/CBC)

Forty stone carvers from Ontario and Quebec — and one from Halifax — participated in this year's festival which began on Friday and ended in a public auction Sunday afternoon. The proceeds were donated to a Montreal-based organization Le Centre d'apprentissage parallèle de Montréal (CAP) which uses art to help people dealing with mental health challenges.

On Sunday, Maquet was adding the finishing touches to his otter carved out of white marble, in line with this year's theme: "Where two rivers meet" — a reference to the intersection of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers.

A few stations over, Caroline Guay was focused on producing a seashell out of Indiana limestone joining herself to the choir of artisans gently tapping hammer against chisel.

"I love the noise," she said.

"It's sort of empowering to see how you can mould stone to the way you want it to be."

A carver chips away at a block of limestone during the Canadian Stone Carving Festival in Montreal. Each piece was auctioned off to raise funds for a local Montreal charity.

A carver chips away at a block of limestone during the Canadian Stone Carving Festival in Montreal. Each piece was auctioned off to raise funds for a local Montreal charity. (Valeria Cori-Manocchio/CBC)

She's been practising stone carving for 10 years and has participated in the festival eight times. For her, the hobby came naturally since she works as a conservator of heritage buildings in Ottawa.

"It's surprising how many people think it's a lost art," she said.

According to Maquet, there's been a growing demand for stone carvers especially in heritage conservation. He says he hopes the festival will encourage others to look into the classes offered by his organization.

Barber says he feels the same way.

"It's alive and well and there's room for more people to come [and] try it," he said about the craft.

Sunday afternoon, 41 unique sculptures, including one created by members of the public, went up for auction. They all sold, raising $10,700 for the CAP, according to Barber.