Our Story
The success of the Academy's debut program, a six week full time apprenticeship for seniors from Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design, an inner city Brooklyn school confirmed our belief in the mission of the Academy.
Assistant Principal Giovanni D'Amato offered this assessment, "I have seen first hand that the activity of stone carving has a powerful potential for unlocking personal growth."
Photo: Durston Saylor
Pellettieri Stone Carvers’ Academy debut program overview (14:26)
The second program took place in 2016.
The participants were professional artists who had never carved stone, and had traveled from far and wide to attend the six week program.
Unlike the teens, they came into the program with a strong desire to learn stone carving already in their hearts. Not surprisingly, they were highly motivated and the atmosphere was one of total dedication to making the most of this opportunity to embrace challenges and grow.
“Whether one takes an interest in architectural carving, sculpture, or inscription, the basic skills that Chris has such a mastery of will be at the heart of his or her practice, going forward. This is what I will take away from Pellettieri Stone Carvers’ Academy more than any single project.”
“Each project presented challenges...unintended broken pieces, unintended flaws. Over time, I learned to fix broken pieces. I saw beauty in flaws. I saw the stone forgiving. I saw the stone as myself-very much alive. So as you view my sculpture, what you see is me...unfinished, in progress, awakening.”
The third program took place in 2016. The participants were veterans.
The goal of the program, which ran daily for five months was to introduce the apprentices to the art of stone carving in the hope that it would help them heal from the trauma they encountered when they were in the military.
Veterans Program (3:39)
“Chris Pellettieri helped me acquire not just the knowledge to further my career, but also the confidence to tackle larger and more complex jobs.”