Chris Pellettieri
Mr. Pellettieri’s training began in 1990 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s Stoneyard Apprenticeship program. He uses two forms of carving in his craft. He performs direct carving, where he creates a sculpture in stone without trying to duplicate a model. In this method, he makes creative decisions and uses judgement as he removes the waste. Mr. Pellettieri also uses the pointing method, where he first creates a clay model of how the final sculpture will appear. Then, he casts the model in plaster so it will withstand the rough handling necessary during its duplication in stone. All his creativity in this process goes into the creation of the model.
Much of his background is based on Geometry, which plays a major role in stonework because large shapes of a building are almost always composed of very small units. The craftsman must create templates to enable drawings to become stone building blocks that fit together.
Mr. Pellettieri particularly appreciates the melange of intellectual and physical challenges that stoneworking offers. His current jobs include fireplaces, fountains, and sculptures. He hopes to one day train his own apprentices, so that he may work on large-scale construction projects in the future.
