There was an opportunity for the public to visit the works of Armagh Marble on 19 February to see how Richard Perry, the award-winning artist, is carving the Armargh Marble into the sculpture he has been commissioned by Armagh City & District Council to produce. When it is completed in April the work will be installed beside Armagh Theatre in the Northern Irish town’s Market Place.

In all his work Richard strives for originality and quality, yet with a relevance to the site his work will occupy and in materials that will stand the test of time – he could not have asked for a better medium than Armagh Marble.

The sculpture, called ‘Starstone’, will be 5m high in a design inspired by ideas of St Patrick – dark into light, which translates into ideas of starlight.

Armagh Marble are manufacturing the design with Richard carving the surface detail.

Together, Roy Reaney, the owner of Armagh Marble, and Richard made the most of the opportunity to invite members of the public with an interest in art, sculpture, architecture and stonemasonry to visit Armagh Marble’s premises and see at first hand the work involved in the process of making the sculpture, from design through CAD drawings to carving.

Armagh Marble hosted two open days, one for the general public on Saturday 19 February and one for school groups on Wednesday 23 February.

Anyone wanting to contact Armagh Marble should call Roy Reaney on Tel:0283 752 3503 or email info@armaghmarble.com. And you can see more of Richard Perry’s work on his website, www.richardperrysculpture.com