STONE CARVER IN SASKATOON KEEPING HISTORY ALIVE

Ryan Watson, Stone Carver & Founder of Rocco Masons is nearing the finish line for the first of two hand carved stone pieces for the Taverna Italian Kitchen & Bar restoration in downtown Saskatoon. This building originally went up in 1907, so it's fitting that most of Watson's carving tools date back to the same time period, with the trade of Stone Carving dating back to the beginning of civilization.

The beauty of hand carved architectural stone detail is that it's design is timeless, and simply becomes more and more impressive with age lasting for centuries. It's nice to see more and more commercial and residential Owners recognizing this fact and restoring Saskatoon's history with more hand carved stone details, along with traditional Masonry facades.

Check out our youtube channel above for a look inside our carving shop of Watson in action and stay tuned for the installation coming soon! Watch PART one by clicking HERE. 

Our crew has completed installing the brick under the limestone Greek key motif and cap stones with precision; a combination of Masonry that's a true match made in heaven! 

​This meander motif took its name from the river Meander, a river with many twists, mentioned by Homer in Iliad. The motif is also known as Greek key or Greek fret.

Meander was the most important symbol in Ancient Greece, symbolizing infinity or the eternal flow of things. Many temples and objects were decorated with this motif, and it is considered that there is a connection with the Cretan labyrinth – indeed - a labyrinth can be drawn using a Greek key.

Meander symbolizes as well the bonds of friendship, of love and devotion and that’s the reason it’s often given as marriage gift. It can symbolize as well the four cardinal points, the 4 seasons, waves – especially in the round version of it, or snakes, among others.

Our limestone dentil is in and absolutely beautiful in and amongst the surrounding limestone facade, staying true to the history of 21st Street in Saskatoon! A dentil is one of a series of closely spaced, rectangular stones that form a molding. The use of dentils is strongly associated with Classical (Greek and Roman) and Neoclassical (Greek Revival) architecture. Dentils should not be confused with brackets or corbels, which generally have a supporting function. The precursor to dentils, when the Greeks were working in wood, may have had a structural reason for being, but regular lines of rectangular blocks of stone became a mark of Greek and Roman ornamentation.

For more on this project and the history of this building see previous blogs by scrolling through them HERE.