Commissioning a piece of work in stone should be both exciting
and rewarding.
Choosing a stonemason/sculptor
who has the skills, knowledge, an obvious passion for his
medium, and a wholehearted interest in your project is vital.
The process should be a close collaboration between everyone
involved to make a vision a reality.
Ashley Baxter has been working
with stone for 30 years. His stonemasonry skills bear evidence of
a traditional training, an essential solid grounding, which he undertook
with a stonemasonry firm in Gloucestershire in 1978, whilst also gaining
a three year apprenticeship at Weymouth College. He has been running
his own successful business in Warminster since 1986.
For Ashley, the importance of any commission is to work
closely with the client. Whether the work entails restoration or is
a specially commissioned fire surround, table or sculpture, Ashley
discusses everything in full detail with the client on site, and can
carve to any specification.
This early collaboration is essential for every project
and sometimes makes for a surprising and exciting outcome when the
merits and attributes of the different stones and styles are discussed
on location.
The enjoyment for the client is the knowledge
that working with Ashley, they can ask for something a little bit
different, traditional or contemporary, that will make their commission
completely unique. His varied portfolio displays his mastery of his
medium.
He takes great pride in the
individual finish of each project. Detailed drawings are prepared
for each project, and if the client is not entirely sure exactly what
they are looking for, Ashley can work closely with them, putting forward
a successful design that works with their ideas.
"He clearly loves what he works
with, cherishing the little idiosyncrasies that make up a certain
type of rock - the veining in this stone, the tiny fossils in that
- ......." (Wiltshire Life)