Nose to the limestone

Artists from around the world have convened on the grounds of the Bybee Stone Company in Ellettsville since June 3 to learn about the medium of limestone sculpture.\nArtists from the symposium have said limestone is so soft that it carves like no other stone they have worked with. \n“Indiana limestone is unusual, because it is softer than other types of stones,” Bloomington Area Arts Council Executive Director Miah Michaelsen said.\nIt is also exported for construction of government buildings, such as the Pentagon, Michaelsen said.\nThe Indiana Limestone Sculpture Symposium launched its eleventh year of workshops, public showcases and lectures Sunday.\n“This is the only symposium that deals with Indiana limestone exclusively,” Michaelsen said.\nThe symposium was the brainchild of sculptor and IU alumna Amy Brier. She said the idea came to her during a visit to Italy after graduating college.\n“I was mesmerized by all the marble,” she said, and was then inspired to start an organization where artists could gather, share and learn from one another about stone sculpture. \nBrier proposed the idea to the Bloomington Area Arts Council, which immediately supported her plan. With the joint effort of the BAAC and Bybee Stone Company, the Limestone Sculpture Symposium began its first symposium in 1996. \nFor the past six years, Bloomington resident Bill Holladay said he has worked on the same project, a limestone bird bath. Carving limestone is a very time-consuming process. He said he first learned about it while taking a course from Brier at the John Waldron Arts Center. \nArtists choose to work with limestone because of the grain and the way the stone polishes, Michaelsen said. The artists are given the opportunity to tour the mill and learn about intricacies of the stone they may not know about otherwise, she said. \n“It is a very meditative activity,” Holladay said. “It’s also a real workout.” \nSculptor Sharon Fullingim has participated in the symposium since 2000 and traveled from New Mexico to attend. \n“I wanted to learn about stone-carving, and Indiana seemed like the place to be,” she said.\nThis year the program is hosting about 25 artists, Brier said.\n“It really is like a family reunion,” Brier said.\nMany different curricula are offered for stone carvers, Brier said. Workshops focus on specialized skills, such as lettering, design, splitting blocks and other techniques. There are also independent, free-formed workshops. Teachers include founder Amy Brier, as well as sculptors George Bauer, Ned Cunningham and Todd Frahm. There are two teachers at the symposium every day. \n “In the beginning, it was a dream that several people had,” Michaelsen said. “The fact that the symposium is still here is a real testament to Brier’s work and interest in limestone as a medium.” \nWorkshops continue for the next two weeks at Bybee Stone Company. The public is welcome to view the artists working at an open house on site Friday from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m.