Carving a life out of stone at museum

KENT — The Eric Sloane Museum will present a stone carving presentation by artist Karin Sprague on the museum grounds on Saturday, Aug. 29,  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In an interview with The Lakeville Journal, Sprague explained that her career in stone carving grew out of a life-long love of letters. After studying photography at Paier College of Art Sprague moved to Block Island, where she convinced a good friend who was opening a restaurant on the island to allow her to paint the restaurant’s sign. The work was well received and the job gave Sprague a few other commissions in the area.

In 1991, she tapped into another life-long love — old gravestones — and took a class from a wood-and-stone carver. The artist was so impressed with Sprague’s skill he gave her some pieces to work on from his own studio.

In 1996, when Sprague’s father-in-law died, she convinced her mother-in-law to allow her to carve his gravestone in slate. It was with this project that Sprague discovered what she feels is her true calling. After receiving a few commissions doing other gravestones, she turned the art into a career that she has enjoyed ever since.

When asked what she enjoys most about the process of carving gravestones, Sprague explained that it truly is heartfelt work. When the process is finished and the stone is in the ground, she feels a sense of joy from the family as they begin the long and slow process of healing. 

Sprague said that knowing she had a part in bringing about that healing brings her great satisfaction and makes the entire process more than worth it.

It all begins with sitting down with the family and just listening to them talk about their deceased relative, she said. Through their stories, Sprague begins to develop an idea of who the person was and how they were important to those close to them. She then gets to work creating a design for the gravestone. The process is extremely slow, requires great attention to detail and often finds her sitting at the drawing board reworking what she has created on the page over and over again until it just feels right.

Throughout her almost 20-year career, Sprague has designed gravestones all over the United States and, two years ago, a memorial in Ireland. She imports her slate from England as well as quarries across New England. Each stone is completely different from any other. 

While she definitely has a style, Sprague said that her inspiration does come from historical gravestones, but each project evolves from the individual person’s life and story.

Along with a demonstration, Sprague will also give a lecture on the museum grounds at 1 p.m. She does not have a set plan for what she will talk about and will instead design her talk around the interests of the audience.

For more information, call the museum at 860-927-3849. There is no cost to attend this program.