Besides all the work for the exhibition I've also been busy carving more ornaments on pinnacles for Cunera's tower in Rhenen, flying buttress figurines, the restoration of a war memorial, and a coat of arms in Belgian bluestone.

This crest stone is intended for on a wall inside a house, that's why I couldn't keep the background material any thicker. If it would be a plaque for outdoors, I would've had to leave the background stone a lot thicker, and I'd also need to pay much more attention to its drainage.
When left outside somewhere with water remaining in some hollows in the stone, that could cause problems with rot or frost later on, even though it can sometimes take a long time before the problems start to appear.

As I've already explained I usually tackle such a coat of arms as a puzzle: the design is transmitted to the stone in seperate pieces. Read more here about the way I start precarving these things .

Belgian bluestone has a lot of names, such as bluestone, arduin, hardstone, coal limestone and Petit Granit. The last name says it all: it is a very hard type of limestone, and that doesn't really help when carving this kind of meticulous work. On the other hand it does have a very tough look and it all looks very nice and clearly defined when finished. I'll keep you informed of the development.

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