The Art of Letter Carving in Stone

The Art of Letter Carving in Stone portrays the beauty of this age-old craft alongside practical instruction. Written by an eminent practitioner and teacher, it guides the novice through the basics of letter carving, drawn lettering and making simple designs, and for the more experienced it explains a new proportioning system for classical Roman capitals and demonstrates a useful approach to designing letterform variations. Topics include:· The development of twentieth-century letter carving· Detailed instruction for V-incising the key strokes of letters· Tools, materials, stone and making a letter carving easel· Drawing a range of alphabets for use in letter carving· Making inscriptions, gilding and painting letters, and simple fixings for inscriptions· Designing headstones and plaques, house names, alphabets and poetry texts. AUTHOR: Tom Perkins was introduced to drawing Roman capitals in his early teens by his art teacher, kindling an enthusiasm for lettering that led to a training in calligraphy at Reigate School of Art and Design. From 1976 he began letter carving at his studio in London and in 1982 he set up his own workshop at Sutton in Cambridgeshire. Tom has taught lettering and letter carving at the Roehampton Institute until 1997 and at West Dean College. He is a fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society, Temenos Academy, The Royal Society of Arts and the Society of Designer Craftsmen. 380 colour photos