Water and Stone 2023 |The Mason's Mark

In October 2023 CAST hosted the second Water and Stone programme, a three-day celebration of granite, exploring the geological formation of the stone and its impact on landscape and built heritage, as well as the ways in which it is shaped by human industry and in turn shapes the lives of those who live and work with it.
The Mason’s Mark was a walk in central Helston led by Ruth Siddall and David Paton, setting out from CAST on the morning of Saturday 14 October.
Dr David Paton is Senior Lecturer at Falmouth University. He has been a practising artist and stone sculptor since 1997, and for many years worked extensively on public art projects. Soon after moving to Cornwall in 2005 David started working with Trenoweth Dimensional Granite Quarry near Falmouth, where his deep affinity for the material and people led him to start a PhD titled The Quarry as Sculpture: The Place of Making (2015).
Dr Ruth Siddall is a geologist specialising in the study of minerals and rocks used in cultural heritage. She has worked extensively on the characterisation and analysis of artists’ pigments, ceramics and building materials, including mortars, bricks and stone. She is a co-author of The Pigment Compendium and is actively engaged in earth science related outreach. She is currently collaborating in research studying materiality with colleagues at UCL Slade School of Fine Art. She regularly leads guided walks unveiling the geological sources of London’s built heritage.
Water and Stone was led by sculptor, Senior Lecturer at Falmouth University and granite enthusiast Dr David Paton.
The talk was filmed by Cris and Molly of CM Productions.
Water and Stone/Dowr ha Men was made possible by the support of Falmouth University, with FEAST, Cornwall Council, Arts Council England, Cornwall Community Foundation and Helston Town Council. The project was also part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.