Commissioned Carving
Gerard specialises & accepts commissions for setting out and building precisely scaled gauged work set with fine joints of less than 1mm to then carve for a finished gauged brickwork carving
As an internationally acclaimed master brickmason with a natural artistic talent, whose passion for his craft solely revived the knowledge and skills of its highest expressions seen in ‘cut and rubbed’ and ‘Gauged brickwork from almost total oblivion, it is not surprising that he is also a superb carver.
Creating this involves a lot of work: typically around 80 hours. Taking full-size rubbers, rubbing them dry on bed, stretcher and header faces to be perfectly square to one another ready for measuring and marking out. Each one of the several miniature bricks, or ‘briquettes’ are then in turn cut, rubbed, laid with fine joints of less than 1mm.
These are then carved in ‘bas-relief’, a sculptural technique allowing the area of the carving to project from, yet belong to, the background surface brickwork upon which it is sculpted. Then the task of gradually sculpting the intricacies of the carving commences. This is, understandably, the longest task to complete requiring artistic skill, care and patience whilst manipulating the mallet and various types of chisels, files and abrasives, working a series of planned passes across the surface to gradually delineate and shape all the detailing.
A critical eye and the vital ability of being able to visualise three-dimensionally images drawn in two-dimensions is absolutely critical to successful sculpting. Furthermore the degree of difficulty is greatly magnified because carving fine detail to a very small scale in a material like brick, a small grain of material suddenly appears huge and becomes significant. Great care is needed when sculpting the finer details; but that is where high-level skill combined with experience plays an important part.
It is due to this that it was decided to have the Livery Company name and motto neatly engraved onto polished metal strips and attached on the top and bottom of the presentation box.
It is this class of work, that raised artisans to the status of a Brickmason, termed a ‘Red Mason’.
Please Contact us to enquire about a commision
This service is unique to Gerard.