"My plates and bowls are often as thin as ceramic and their delicacy makes them suitable for use in the home. They are as durable as pottery and should last for a few more million years to come."
Tony Viney - Stone Plates & Vessels
My plates are made from polished Purbeck stone, which is a Jurassic stone about 125 million years old mostly composed of a mass of fossils. Purbeck is exceptional in the variety of its stones. Not only do they come in different colours but they contain very different shell structures, from the very small shells found Purbeck marble to the spangle bed with its huge ammonites and dinosaur footprints.
I set up my workshop in Corfe Castle Dorset opposite the railway station over thirty years ago, since when my plates and bowls have sold throughout the world. The art of turning stone has seen major changes in recent years. In the past it was confined to balustrades and funereal urns etc. using chisels jammed against stone spinning on massive lathes. Recently the introduction of industrial diamonds has enabled an entirely different form of stone turning to evolve.
Many of the techniques which I use I have had to invent. My plates and bowls are often as thin as ceramic and their delicacy makes them suitable for use in the home. They are as durable as pottery and if they are protected from acid such as fruit juices they should last for a few more million years to come.
Gallery of work
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Buscuit Plate |
Insized Bowl |
Orbital Plate |
Tony details
Tony Viney was born in 1933 and ran his own publishing agency for fifteen years in London before moving to Dorset. He lives in an isolated old stone barn, where he generates his electricity from the wind and the sun at Worth Matravers within easy reach of the quarries where he gets his stone.
He sells his output throughout the world including America and Japan where a short film was made about him. His hobbies include reading and music. Work is held in collections around the world.
Contact details:
Sandy Hills Workshops
Corfe Castle
Dorset
BH20 5JF
United Kingdom
Studio: (+44) 01929 480977
email:tony@tonyviney.co.uk
