Stone symposium sum of parts

Those who take part in the Oamaru Stone Symposium make it what it is, site manager Matt King says.

About 20 tonnes of stone loaded on 14 pallets were dropped off at Friendly Bay and six carvers got to work yesterday — but the carvers do not work in isolation, instead, trading techniques, swapping tools and sharing ideas.

"That is the whole idea," Mr King said.

The atmosphere was one in which "if you’re not crying, you’re laughing — or the other way around. Because it can get pretty hard yakka. You’ve only got two weeks to chew through a three-tonne block.

Dunedin sculptor Craig McLanachan works on a piece at the Oamaru Stone Symposium at Friendly Bay...
Dunedin sculptor Craig McLanachan works on a piece at the Oamaru Stone Symposium at Friendly Bay yesterday. Photo: Hamish MacLean.
"They love it and they’re all old hands."

The  change in the timing of the symposium this year so it could be part of the inaugural Waitaki Arts Festival had meant only six sculptors were able to attend. But as always, the public would be welcome to get among the artists, and children would be encouraged to tackle their own little blocks of limestone. Dunedin sculptor Craig McLanachan said it was his sixth time  taking part in  the  event, which is held every two years.

"I love the place. I love being here with all the friends I’ve made.

"We all help each other ... I really enjoy that."

The symposium runs every day of the Waitaki Arts Festival, which finishes on October 8.

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