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Meet Scott Cahaly of Scott’s Stone Carving Classes in Bedford

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Cahaly.

Scott, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started making art the second half of college up at the University of Vermont. Really making art, is pretty much all I did for the last two years until I got my degree. I caught the ‘inspiration bug’ big time, created in just about any medium I could get my hands on. Upon graduating I was hacking away on a piece of Carrara marble which is the stone Michelangelo worked in! Shortly after I got a job at the Vermont Marble Exhibit in Central Vermont where I purchased a five thousand pound piece of Vermont Marble.

I worked on this and several other large stones until I landed back in the Boston area in 2000 which is where I am from (Lexington.) I was in need of work so I drove to the Decordova Museum in Lincoln to see if I could get a job as a security job. As soon as I opened my car door, I heard chisels banging on stone and followed the sound to a sculpture studio. Shortly after I started teaching a night class, then it turned into several classes a week. For about a solid decade plus I focused on making/showing/selling my art, while teaching part time up at the Decordova Museum. Somewhere around 2011-12 the museums classes went under which is when I long time loyal group of students asked me to start my own classes and this is when ‘Scott’s Stone Carving Classes’ began!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Even though most stone sculptures end smooth, the process is mostly a ‘rough’ one. I have been lucky that with each chapter, year, studio things have wound up smooth!

Stone carvers/studios are pretty much on the bottom of the visual arts food chain. A bunch of people in a room breaking rocks for recreation, a lot of issues can arise and do from time to time!

One huge hurtle has been finding an adequate and affordable space in the ultra-expensive Boston area commercial real Estate Market. Twice I was given almost no notice I needed to leave a space and had to secure a new space for people to carve. I have been in about four diff. locations in six years.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Scott’s Stone Carving Classes – what should we know?
As an artist, I am known for my stone carvings and paintings. My gift seems to be to find form out of formlessness. As a teacher/guide at ‘Scott’s Stone Carving Classes” I try to convey these qualities to others. To sort of gauge where they are at and hopefully open their eyes to more possibilities.

It is like “look, you see that owl emerging from the stone?” “What about the possibility of a half human half elephant emerging out of that million plus year old piece of alabaster?”

I think that my brand of art/teaching is unique to me, I am competent with the tools of the trade but the aspect of helping people to look into their rocks for inspiration is my greatest satisfaction. I think I am one of the few year round stone carving studios open to the public in the world! People google stone carving in different states and countries and seem to find me!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Inspiration. Just staying inspired from my own work and lighting a fire under others to stay inspired with theirs! This state of inspiration is a right brained healing activity that has the ability to short circuit many things including, stress, depression, over thinking and allows one great well-being!

I get to experience this daily in my own work and see it in the eyes of the people I teach to carve stone. I feel like I am connecting them with an ancient lineage that goes back to the beginning of time, so different than any other part of their week!

In a way, as we are trying to carve the best elements out of the stone we are revealing some of the best versions of ourselves!

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Megan Moore Photography

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