08 Dec 08

The winners of the Millennium Myths and Monsters competition have received firsthand experience of what it takes to be stone carvers. They recently visited the Oxfordshire studio of Alec and Fiona Peever to see for themselves how their winning gargoyle designs are being turned into stone.

In December 2007 nine young people from across Oxfordshire discovered their drawings had been selected from hundreds of entries in a competition launched by the University of Oxford to find new gargoyles for the Bodleian Library.

Winners of the Millennium Myths and Monsters competition at a stone carvers' studio to see how their gargoyles will be made

Over the last few months, the stone carvers have been interpreting the winners’ drawings into designs that will work as gargoyles.

Fiona Peever said: ‘ The winners spent a day at our studio so they can understand what features have to be taken into account when designing a carving that will be viewed from below. The winners were able to model their design in clay as this gives them an insight into the three dimensional aspect of their original ideas. Certainly, I hope they all go away with a better understanding of the stone carvers’ art.’

The winners welcomed the hands-on experience: ‘ It was an inspiring workshop, at which I learned the supreme importance of visual impact in sculpture,’ said Eva Masmanian.

Meanwhile another winner, Ben Bryant, enjoyed the whole creative process: ‘It was a good insight into how they will go about creating our gargoyles. I enjoyed doing something creative as I have had to drop Art at school now I am studying for my GCSEs.’

Isobel Hughes, Head of Conservation and Buildings at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The  youngsters are not the only ones getting excited about seeing the finished gargoyles, I am delighted at the way the Peevers have managed to interpret the original designs. The new gargoyles should be ready by early summer of 2009 when we plan to stage an unveiling ceremony at the Bodleian Library.’

The winners are 11-year-old George O’Connor from Oxford for ‘Dodo’; 12-year-old Hannah Duckworth from Oxford for ‘Green man’; 12 year old Henry Chadwick from Oxford for ‘Three men in a boat’; 13-year-old Eva Masmanian from Oxford for ‘Tweedledum and Tweedledee’; 13-year-old Ben Bryant from Abingdon for ‘Wild Boar’; 13-year-old Alfie Turner from Longworth for ‘Sir Thomas Bodley’; 14-year-old Hayley Williams from Abingdon for ‘Aslan’; 14-year-old Kerrie Chambers from Bicester for ‘General Pitt Rivers’; and 14-year-old Alex Sermon from Abingdon for ‘From Myths to Monsters’ (based on Tolkien characters).

This competition is called ‘Design a Gargoyle’, but strictly speaking the new stone creations that will go up on the Bodleian should really be called ‘grotesques’ as unlike gargoyles they do not have water spouts.

Stone carver Alec Peever provided the engraving of a stone plinth and the dedication stone in the Princess Margaret Memorial Garden, opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2006 at the Rothermere American Institute. Other recent work includes monuments in St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the cathedrals at Winchester, Canterbury, Chichester, Truro, Wells, Derby and Bristol.