Solid start for the sculptor putting his mark on Sheffield
A FAMILY business specialising in bespoke, handmade sculptures is marking its first anniversary with the launch of a studio and gallery in Sheffield.
Founder of Stoneface Creative and professional sculptor Andrew Vickers launched the gallery last Saturday near his ten acres of woodland in Storrswood, Stannington.
The Sheffield-born sculptor now known as ‘Stoneface’ said: “I started off building dry stone walls in Sheffield, there’s lots of them round here.
“And I was just sat eating my lunch one sunny afternoon, looking around me and out of all the walls that I’ve taken down in the past I’ve never ever found a signature of anyone who’s built them, so I thought I’m going to change this, I’m going to put my mark on these walls that I build.
“I hadn’t ever carved stone at that point but I went home and I knocked this rough face out of stone.”
Following this inspiration, Andrew began carving faces into the walls of Sheffield, which he later developed into a skill and then, a business.
“What I discovered was if I can get an image into my head, or into me, I can carve anything, absolutely anything, so stone walling petered off and I started to doing more sculptures with my work,” he added.
After being commissioned by the council to create a war memorial – in a location he was subsequently unhappy with – Andrew created his own memorial in memory of those who died as a result of the second world war.
He said: ““There’s no way I’m being associated with a war memorial that no one can find.
“So I said I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll give up a piece of my wood in perpetuity to the people of Sheffield and build a war memorial upon it so that anyone can come and visit it anytime, so that’s what I did.”
Two weeks ago, the sculptor was joined by the bishop of Doncaster for the unveiling of the latest addition to the war memorial, the ‘Broken Man’.
The new gallery – which is a stones throw away from the memorial – is currently only open on weekends but Andrew has high hopes to increase his workforce and open the space up full time.
The company is also working on corporate events where people can spend a few hours carving their own sculptures and even make their own pizzas in the gallery’s stone bake oven.
