Karl Ramberg is a hard hewer. For decades, he has been a stone mason and stone carver in Lawrence. His work is on display in places from buildings and walls to sculptures outside of KU's Natural History Museum.
Lawrence City Lifestyle recently sat down with Ramberg to discuss his new book, "Stone Diary: Confessions of a Hard Hewer" and his life in stone carving.
LCL: How long have you been a stone carver?
Ramberg: Oh, almost 40 years. The thing I've been trying to do with stone carving more than anything is bring it back into the world of architecture. You know, stone carving was a part of architecture from the very beginning. The man in the cave carving on the stone walls. Then, it became a part of the architecture in cultures all over the world. The Greeks. The Romans.
But then the 20th century came along, and the modern movement of architecture came along, and it was all but forbidden to use stone carvings in ornamentation of any sort. You just want that sleek, modern look.
But, you know, that was the 20th century. We're in the 21st. What's next in architecture, and can stone carving be a part of it? That's really the essence of what I've been trying to do with stone carving. What interests me is how do you incorporate stone carving into that modern aesthetic.
LCL: What drew you to stone carving?
Ramberg: A lot of it was my teacher, Eldon Tefft. He just made it really interesting and engaging.
My sister, Laura, studied with him, and that's how I got to know him. After she graduated, she made these beautiful pieces, but they were to be cast in bronze, and she couldn't afford the casting. So I said, well, let's build a foundry, and we'll just cast them. Of course, I knew nothing about how to cast bronze, and that's how Eldon became my teacher. I just went to him and started asking questions. His answer was to hand me a book that he wrote about bronze casting and foundry design. Pretty soon, he ran out of books. So he said, "Just come up, and I'll put you to work."
It was never taking a class. I just would help him with whatever he was doing. And I did that until his death.
LCL: Growing up, did you have a dream of what you wanted to be?
Ramberg: Oh, I thought I'd be a writer. My oldest brother, that was his creative work and I wanted to be like my oldest brother. And I had a couple of uncles that would write poetry. And that was the influence. And I was always a reader from a very early age.
Then, sometime in high school, I started banging on guitars. And so then my dream was music. I went off to music school in my mid-20s for a little bit, and for the longest time, music was my focus on creative work. I was fully engaged with being a musician. I used to give concerts at the Art Center every few years.
I haven't done one for a long time. And part of that is my hearing impairment. Music doesn't sound right to me anymore.
LCL: How long did it take you to write this book?
Ramberg: Thirty to forty years. I would have some adventures, and I'd want to remember them. So I'd sit down at the computer and type up a story. For the last ten years, I told myself every winter that I would put the stories together and make a book when it was too cold to work. And the winter came along, and I'd get an indoor job. Or the winters were only four days, and then it'd be warm enough to be back working. But this year, there were three weeks in January when it was so cold I couldn't do anything else.
LCL: Is there anything else you want people to know?
Ramberg: The people of Lawrence have been so supportive of me. Whatever my creative work has been, they've just always been there to support me, and that has made it just such a delight. And they not only support what I'm doing. They also inspire me with the work they do. Lawrence is such a creative place, and it's just fun to be a part of it.
Ramberg’s book is available at The Raven Bookstore on Mass Street and on Amazon.
I would have some adventures, and I'd want to remember them.
The people of Lawrence have been so supportive...