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The Story of Fireplace
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| I design and carve fireplaces in limestone and marble. This is the story of one of them, showing the progress through design, carving and installation. Follow the links at the bottom of this page to see the wide range of my fireplace styles and designs. |
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| When the house was completed in 1931 the photo on the left was published in an architectural magazine. The fireplace was torn out in the 1960's. The new owners wanted to restore the original grandeur. The result is on the right. | |
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Working from the photo and from measurements taken on site, I developed this drawing. In addition, I created full scale drawings of the carving details and profiles of the moldings. |
| Once these were approved the stone was ordered from a stone mill. The mill purchases 20 ton blocks of stone from the quarries in Southern Indiana, and saws them to size. I gave them a detailed list of the 14 pieces that make up this fireplace. | |
| Carving | |
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| Carving is done with various hammers and chisels. Here work has begun on the five emblems. While the basic design was taken from the missing original fireplace, details were personalized for the client. The emblems include a Viking ship, the Mayflower (honoring the family's ancestors) and a family crest featuring a lion. | |
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| After transferring the drawing to the stone, carving proceeds carefully, first shaping the forms and then developing the details. | |
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| Carved myrtle leaves were incorporated as ornamental elements, since the homeowner loves the look of the myrtle. | |
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Installation |
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| Installation by the stone masons took several days. | |
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| The old hearth was removed, and the floor was covered to protect it from damage. On the right you see the mason setting one of the fireplace feet on the new hearth. | |
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| The stone was set with mortar and anchored back to the wall with galvanized wall ties. All pieces were carefully aligned and leveled. In key locations the stones were pinned together with bronze pins. | |
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| All joints (the gaps between the pieces of stone) were filled with mortar and when complete, tuckpointed with grout. | |
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| Click the image on the left to see a large picture of the finished fireplace. | |
Other pages showing work in progress and the creative process:
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Most of the fireplaces you see on this site are original creative designs ©
Walter S. Arnold and are not to be reproduced without permission.
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| Site Map | ||||
| GALLERY | RESOURCES | |||
| Gargoyles Gargoyles, grotesques, green men & their history |
Fireplaces Different styles & designs in marble & limestone |
Creating Gargoyles The sequence of carving gargoyles |
Carving tools and
techniques How a block of stone becomes a sculpture |
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Work! What's new |
A Stone Menagerie Carved animals |
Who am I? Biography of the artist |
Marble Images, 200 varieties |
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| Custom Signage | Public Sculpture | Stonecutters History- the Union in America |
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| Religious Sculpture | Garden Sculpture | Teachers Q&A Students questions about gargoyles and carving | ||
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| Architectural Ornament | VRML 3d Sculpture | Links to other sites | The Gargoyle Newsletter | |
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| © 1994-2008 Walter S. Arnold, Sculptor/Stone Carver | ||
| Chicago, USA | (847) 568-1188 (312) 226-1141 |
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Web site design and graphics by Walter S. Arnold
