Week 5 Kurjanowicz Sculpture Studio Visit
Pictured above is George Kurjanowicz (right) and his apprentice, Marc (left)
This week, I met up with Mary and some others from the Vermont Folklife office in Websterville at the Kurjanowicz Sculpture Studio. I was able to tag along to participate in a site visit and follow-up interview with George Kurjanowicz and his apprentice, Marc. George has been a long-time mentor-artist in the VT Folklife Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP), and Marc is his most recent apprentice who is part of the 2025-2026 VTAAP cohort.
The studio is tucked into the corner of a large granite shed, which was an incredible maze to walk through. George gave us a tour of the shed, where every step of granite production from raw stone to finished product could be seen in its various stages. Large granite blocks were cut to size by massive saws, and a never-ending stream of water was pumped through to keep the dust at bay.
“Founded in 1987 by George Kurjanowicz, Kurjanowicz Sculpture Studio, LLC has grown to serve as an essential stone sculpture resource. The studio provides design, production, and educational services at its facilities in the heart of Barre, Vermont.” - Excerpt from Kurjanowicz Sculpture Studios' website
Pictured above are Marc & George showing us the tools of the trade
As time has gone on, some ways of carving granite have changed; we saw some finished headstones in other parts of the shed that included carvings done first digitally and then etched into the stone with a laser machine. However, things are still done traditionally at the Kurjanowicz studio. George and Marc both showed us some of the tools that they use each day to hand-carve things like religious iconography and floral pieces into stone. They discussed the physical challenges of the job and allowed us to hold their mechanical carving tools which seem similar to Dremels or other rotary tools with different bits and heads that can be used to achieve the desired effect in the stone. The tools were heavy, and the constant vibration when they are running seemed like it would be unbearable after several hours. They both talked about the exhaustion after a long day's work, but they also talked about their love of the craft.
They create pieces for specific orders, but both have personal passion projects that they fit in where they can. Something that struck me was that Marc and George both expressed that throughout their early exploration of art, they had both had a moment where they realized working with stone was their niche, how they just felt it in their bones. During the recorded interview portion of our visit, George talked about his plans to retire eventually, something he feels more comfortable with now, since having trained apprentices like Marc who will carry on the knowledge and art form he has passed on to them.
