Stone sculptor Andrew ‘Stoneface’ Vickers, who started out carving faces into dry-stone walls, has been commissioned to create a new war memorial in the centre of Sheffield.
He was approached by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield to produce the piece, which will remember those who have lost their lives during wars of the last 50 years.
The commission comes hot on the heels of Andrew’s most recent project, which involved turning 12 acres of woodland in Storrs Wood between Dungworth and Loxley into an open air gallery for his work.
Andrew said: “To be honest, I feel really privileged to be asked to do this work and as far as I’m concerned it’s the most significant thing I’ve been asked to create to date.”
It came as a bit of a surprise for Andrew, who at first was not sure if the approach was genuine.
He said: “I got the phone call one Friday night and at first I thought it was a joke, I just went along with it as it’s not something you expect, to be invited to the Chamber by the Lord Mayor for a cup of tea.”
But genuine it was and a fundraising drive for the memorial was launched by the Lord Mayor and David Blunkett MP, with the memorial to be installed at Barker’s Pool.
The exact design of the sculpture is yet to be finalised, but Andrew hopes Sheffield people will have an influence on it, especially the families of those who have lost loved ones in battle.
STONE SCULPTOR ANDREW ‘STONEFACE’ VICKERS, who started out carving faces into dry-stone walls, has been commissioned to create a new war memorial in the centre of Sheffield.
He was approached by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield to produce the piece, which will remember those who have lost their lives during wars of the last 50 years.
The commission comes hot on the heels of Andrew’s most recent project, which involved turning 12 acres of woodland in Storrs Wood between Dungworth and Loxley into an open air gallery for his work.
Andrew said: “To be honest, I feel really privileged to be asked to do this work and as far as I’m concerned it’s the most significant thing I’ve been asked to create to date.”
It came as a bit of a surprise for Andrew, who at first was not sure if the approach was genuine.
He said: “I got the phone call one Friday night and at first I thought it was a joke, I just went along with it as it’s not something you expect, to be invited to the Chamber by the Lord Mayor for a cup of tea.”
But genuine it was and a fundraising drive for the memorial was launched by the Lord Mayor and David Blunkett MP, with the memorial to be installed at Barker’s Pool.
The exact design of the sculpture is yet to be finalised, but Andrew hopes Sheffield people will have an influence on it, especially the families of those who have lost loved ones in battle.
