The Granite Carver

We rarely pause to think about the material that gives our state its nickname. Granite is so hard that sulfuric acid won’t mar it. It’s one of few rocks to survive the glaciers which passed through thousands of year ago. It’s so ubiquitous, in ancient stone walls and cemeteries, that it sometimes seems as common as air or trees.

Artist Gary Haven Smith spends a lot of time thinking about granite. In his Northwood studio, Gary uses diamond saws to inch through massive stones. He turns boulders into delicate shapes, like Diora installed in front of the state library, or swirl stones that look like an apple peel discarded by a giant. Tonight Gary steps away from the dust to join abstract painter Gerald Auten for a Meet the Artist night at the Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire.

(Photo by Robin Respaut)