Compass Rose, part two.
5 March, 2025 – 12:49 pmThis commission should have been relatively straightforward, I couldn’t have foretold what would happen on the 4th Feb though.
Unfortunately I fell and broke my ankle, already 2 weeks behind because the quarry had forgotten to cut the stone, I was now in danger of missing the deadline of the end of March.
I had completed one of the quarters and got the next one up ready to carve.
After two weeks rest, I was taking strong painkillers, I decided that I could work with my leg up. The exhaustion that I felt after just a few hours work was un-imaginable. I’m healing and not working with my full body so of course I’m going to be tired.
These photos show the stage that I am up to with possibly another two weeks work. The Compass Rose will be in by the end of March though.
Normally I finish the whole commission before I start adding any paint, but there is nothing normal about this time in my career. I am having to adapt and work in ways I never knew, but I am tenacious and work hard in all aspects of my job. I have to keep in mind that I have broken my ankle, in two places, not just one and try and keep my foot elevated wherever possible.
Thankfully I have a strong nephew to move my stone around for me, I have a crane, but can’t do what I need to to use it. Once he’d swapped the stone over I got him to elevate one corner of the first quarter so I could wash it ready for painting.
The coat of arms has been gilded, I just need to tidy the excess gold off, there’s only one quarter to carve and paint the letters of, and then I need to finish the chopping out of the rebates for the compass points and the coat of arms.
I made a mould of the coat of arms before I painted and gilded it, this is so I can sell the casts in my shop, they will also be available to buy from the Guildhall museum in Sandwich, a proportion going back to the town council.
I am chopping the last inset on the above photo today and then the stones can be swapped over, it’s easier to drill the holes and chisel out the stone with it on my banker and easier to letter cut the last four letters upright on my sack lifter.
Home stretch now. I think another 10 days should do it, I struggle to work much more than 3-4 hours per day, but I’m getting there and this will be another carving testament to my ability, tenacity and resilience.
I would like to thank all my customers for their continued support and patience while this is going on. It really helps knowing that they are happy to wait for their commissions.
