Through the granite stoor of a cavernous Angus shed, Scotland’s oldest apprentice is shaping his new career.
Dave Sinclair’s artisan skills have already carried him across the globe for dry-stone dyking commissions in far-flung locations, including Canada and Kentucky.
Now, at the age of 50, Dave is carving out a new direction as a monumental sculptor under the tutelage of Kirriemuir’s Bruce Walker, who half a century ago was the nation’s last stonemason trained in the traditional methods which now seem set to enjoy a fresh surge in interest.
Dave, from Ferryden, near Montrose, is benefiting from an innovative Historic Scotland bursary which got under way a few months ago, allowing him to tap into the lifetime of experience Bruce has gained since he trained in Aberdeen at the beginning of the 1960s.
“I have been a dry-stone dyker for more than 20 years,” said Dave. “There weren’t many people doing it when I started out, and over that time the biggest change has been the type of work.
“Back then around 90% of it was farm work, now it’s almost all commercial and private.”
That shift has also taken Dave towards more artistic dyking commissions, such as the prestigious Broxden roundabout work he tackled in 1997.
Having known Bruce for some years, the pair’s shared vision of marrying the traditional skills of the dry-stone dyker and the monumental sculptor have crystallised into the innovative apprenticeship.
Bruce said: “I was the last person to serve a proper apprenticeship as a monumental sculptor, and I’m trying to squeeze into one year with Davie what took me five years up to 1963.
“In the 1970s I saw that the granite trade was going down the road of heavy mechanisation and it was then that I moved into glass engraving, but I have never lost my passion for stone sculpting with the granite of the north east.”
Bruce, 67, is proud that a traditional festive open day at his Cumberland Close shop in Kirriemuir town centre on Sunday will present an opportunity for his ‘young’ apprentice to showcase his emerging talent.
“It’s very physical work, but Dave has a great work ethic and the other benefit is that he has all these years of experience as a dyker,” said Bruce.
Dave added: “I’ve done artistic dyking, but we believe there is an opportunity for the two to be married together, maybe with bigger sculptures incorporated to make a feature of a dyke or entrance.”