Stone Carvers/ Masons

Stone Carvers/ Masons

The course for masonry and stone carving has included both theoretical classes (1 day/week) and practical trainings (4 days/week), as well as one day of excursion to a stone processing plant.

In the stone masonry curriculum the following skills were taught:

- Different tools and how to use them, including work safety measures and first aid.

- How to build a wall, an arch and arched roof, a traditional stone floor, a slate roof, a stone staircase, a chimney, a cobblestone street, and how to prepare mortar and plaster for traditional houses.

The stone carving curriculum included the following learning modules:

• - Different tools and how to use them, including work safety
• - How to carve a relief, a figure and an ornament in stucco/gypsum.

Theoretical classes included the following subjects:

• - The built heritage of Gjirokastra and the use of stone in Gjirokastra houses (foundation, walls, cisterns, floors, staircases, ornaments, roof slates, etc.)
• - The Gjirokastra slate roof.
• - Types of stone, their qualities and their usage.
• Ways to break and cut stone.
• Traditional Gjirokastra stone ornaments.
• Basic drawing, including geometry, perspective, proportion, etc.