Scottish stonecarver, Gillian Forbes, has won a £7,700 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship which will enable her to spend four months in the studio of an eminent French stonecarver who will teach her advanced carving skills.  

Gillian, who lives in Perthshire, will receive her award at the Royal Warrant Holders lunch in June next year. She set up her own business 10 years ago after completing a two year course in stonemasonry and architectural carving at Weymouth College in Dorset.  She has undertaken a wide range of projects from headstones to commemorative plaques, many involving lettering.  Her public commissions have included a series of intricately carved ‘niche’ elements for the River Tay Flood Prevention Wall in Perth, and most recently she collaborated with the architects on the Canongate Wall at the new Scottish Parliament Building.

Winning a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship will enable Gillian to spend four months in the studio of French stonecarver, Marc Chevalier-Lacombe, well known in the field of architectural stonecarving.  She said “He teaches advanced skills within a government supported training programme at his studio near Saint Laurent des Bois.  He will set me a series of projects tailored to my needs including drawing, model making, and copying using a pointing machine.  I am keen to achieve a higher level of competence.   Learning these new skills will add a reinvigorating dimension to my work and enable me to take on a more technically diverse and challenging range of projects.”

Gillian, who is a member of the Scottish Lettercutters Association, has recently established her own purpose-built stonecarving studio and is looking forward to working with a wide range of designers, architects and other stone craftspeople.  “There is a distinct lack of specialist training in Scotland” she explains.  “By encouraging a greater understanding of stonecarving  through exhibitions and education I hope to help raise the standard of expertise, using a material which is such an integral part of the fabric of this country.”

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, was set up in 1990 with money contributed by its members, to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Association. 

Queen Elizabeth Scholarships, endowed by the Royal Warrant Holders Association, are designed to advance education in modern and traditional crafts and trades in the UK and are open to men and women of all ages. Scholarships are awarded twice a year and this autumn nine awards have been made totalling £45,500.

The Trustees look for well thought out projects which will contribute to the pool of talent in the UK and reflect the excellence of British craftsmanship as symbolised by the Royal Warrant of Appointment. 

Application forms for spring 2005 Scholarships (closing date 11 February 2005) may be obtained by sending an SAE (35p) to: The Secretary, The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, No. 1 Buckingham Place, London SW1E 6HR.   Application forms can also be downloaded from the QEST website at  www.qest.org.uk

Gillian writes about the Canongate Wall project and her involvement in our craftscotland feature.