By Michael Ryan
HUNTER - Multiple aspects of the upcoming Hunter Stone-Carving Seminar are hard to believe, starting with the cost of admission.
The workshops, August 12-24 (excluding Sunday) are free of charge (with help from the CREATE Council on the Arts) located at the town of Hunter municipal facility, 5742 Route 23A, outside the hamlet of Tannersville.
That fact alone is cause for disbelief but there is also the presence of - and instructor from - Kevin VanHentenryck, a master sculptor who has his home base in the hamlet of West Kill, town of Lexington.
VanHentenryck, as he has for the past seventeen years, will be setting up a temporary stone-carving studio at the Hunter townhouse, allowing the hands of his students to do most of the talking.
“This exploration of the sculptural possibilities of Catskill Mountain bluestone is designed to teach as many people as possible about the ancient art of carving stone,” VanHentenryck says.
“The bluestone blocks, some as large as 12 tons, serve as the medium, and remain as a permanent part of the sculpture park that is open to the public,” situated on the townhouse grounds.
From concept and layout, to surface finishing, all aspects of the process are taught by VanHentenryck, utilizing both hand and pneumatic (air powered) techniques.
Students should be prepared to get dirty and work collaboratively, provide their own transportation, food, lodging and safety equipment.
VanHentenryck brings the expertise and materials (unless you have your own stones), saying, “the objects we carve have the potential to last thousands of years.
“Each piece has to work independently of the source material. Who’s to say their story, centuries from now, will be known?” For more info, call (518) 989-6356, (845) 679-6660 or email kevinvanhentenryck @gmail.com.
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