The sawdust is mixed with marble dust lately in the WEI Shop. As part of the restoration of the historic Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC, new marble moldings are being created to match the originals in the building's cornice. WEI has pulled from its stockpile of Beaver Dam Marble and drawn on the talents of local stone carver Patrick Plunkett. http://stonecarversguild.com/m_plunkett.htm Together with WEI's Jason Wright, Plunkett has created new dentils and rosettes that will blend seamlessly with the existing cornice.
The marble from the Beaver Dam quarry in Timonium, Maryland was used for many buildings in the Baltimore/Was
hington area, including the U.S. Capitol. The quarry has long been out of production and the material is only available as salvage. WEI had the dentils roughed out with a stone saw, but the remainder of the work was left to pneumatic and hand chisels. The rosettes were also cut by the saw and the deeper recesses drilled out before Plunkett's chisels went to work.This weeks cold weather has driven the work inside and it is progressing steps from my office. While I could do without the constant drone of the pneumatic chisels (like a slow-m
otion motorcross, never getting out of first gear), being able to watch the progress is fascinating. Nothing attracts craftsmen like other craftsmen. Plunkett and Wright have had a constant stream of visitors watching the sharp corners and gentle curves emerge from the ancient stone. It's not something that most of us get to witness every day. So I thought I would share it with you.
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