
I’ve begun offering Soapstone Carving workshops in Port Rowan, at the beautiful Birds Canada Headquarters. The first workshop was held on July 13, 2024. It was a perfect summer’s day.
I began teaching soapstone carving 18 years ago in Haldimand County. I led classes at Haldimand Art Works, and in Dunnville and Hagersville for enrichment classes through the Grand Erie District School Board.
I enjoyed teaching children and adults. For most of them, they were using tools they had never handled before, and learning how to transfer a pattern or form to a piece of stone. They were then applying those new skills to carve a unique artwork from stone.
More recently, I led carving workshops for our local Artists By The Bay arts group. I was impressed with the concentration and effort of this group.
The people I taught carving to last Saturday had similar focus, spending the morning carefully carving pendants from soapstone. They sat at shaded picnic tables on the spacious back deck of the Birds Canada Headquarters. The property is lovely, with wetlands, naturalized fields, and walking paths. Birds sang throughout the morning. I’m looking forward to leading more workshops there.


