I have been carving stone since 1972. I found my original inspiration while working in a geological field camp on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. One of the crew was an Inuit man who carved rocks in his spare time. He gave me a chunk of soapstone along with a few pointers. The end result was a treasured rock carving I still have with me 50 years later. In 1999, I moved to Sedona, AZ, where the beautiful red rocks of Sedona inspired me to pick up my tools and start rock carving in earnest, after a lull of 27 years. Back in Ottawa, I now carve the local limestone, sandstone, granite, and marble, as well as Eramosa Marble from Owen Sound. My degree in Geology doesn’t make me a better artist, but it does give me an appreciation of the history of rocks and the stories they tell.

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I never thought that I had any interest or skill in writing until 1980, when I landed the job of Editor of “The East Villager,” a community newspaper in Manhattan, New York City. How an unskilled neophyte ended up in such a role is a story in itself, but I’ll leave that one for my memoirs (coming out in 2028). Turns out that I love to write and I’m pretty good at it. Over the years I have written plays (“The Godchild” (1982), “The Empty Tomb (1983), “Life in the Bloodstream” (1984)), a TV script (“The Quimby Effect” (unpublished)), a movie script (“Mars Inc.” (unpublished)), a magazine article (“Pandemonium in the Basement” (2025)), and three novels (“The Caverns of Sedona” (2024), “The Sedona Flying School” (2025), and “Conversations with Jesus Over a Cup of Coffee (2026)), with another novel scheduled to be published in 2027 (“Return to the Caverns of Sedona”). Whew, what fun!

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I am now happily retired and living in Ottawa, Canada. A typical day for me is rock carving in the morning and writing in the afternoon. What a great way to spend a day! I display my rock carvings at different local art shows and rock and gem shows throughout the year, as well as on my website (jamesgregory.ca). My novels are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle formats. I try to get down to Sedona, AZ (my spiritual home) every year for a few weeks of hiking in the red rocks (if the political climate is favourable).

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-- James Gregory

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On Carving Rocks

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To carve a rock, first, you have to find a rock to carve. It is not as easy as you might think. You need a rock that will lend itself to carving. Some rocks are so hard, the tools just bounce off; others are so crumbly, they fall apart in your hands. I look for rocks that have personality and speak to me, rocks that literally say, "Take me home and make me into something beautiful." The first rocks I carved I found when I was hiking in the red rocks of Sedona. I would be walking along and I would spot a rock that was too attractive to leave behind. Into my backpack, it would go. I have memories of putting rocks in my pack that were so heavy, I couldn't put my pack back on. These days, I find most of my rocks at the foot of rock cuts at the side of the road. In the Ottawa area, I collect Nepean Sandstone, Ottawa limestone, and marble from Arnprior and Wakefield this way. I also buy rock from a local stone yard, primarily Eramosa Marble sourced from a quarry near Owen Sound. People give me rocks, and I have even found a few beautiful boulders in my own rock garden.

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Next, I study the rock. What does it want me to do? What beauty is hiding inside, waiting to be revealed? I try not to force my will on a rock, but rather follow its lines and contours. Sometimes cracks and imperfections force me to change my plans, but I just consider them ways that the rock is speaking to me, to work with what it gives me, not against it. I don't very often carve figures. Usually, I carve the kind of shapes and surfaces I see Mother Nature creating. Because I know I cannot match her beauty and subtlety, I simply try to emulate and simulate, so my customers can have a little something of nature in their homes. The rock is the art. I see my role as an artist to simply release the beauty of the rock.

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I use power tools, not the traditional hammer and chisel. In the early days, I used a Dremel tool but soon found it underpowered and small. I moved to an electric drill with various bits and wheels. It was better, but still too limited. When I first discovered angle grinders, my whole world opened up. Here was the tool I had been looking for! It was powerful and came with an unlimited selection of grinding and cutting wheels. The downside is that it is very noisy (I use two layers of ear protection) and very dusty (I use an N95 industrial breather). But what a joy to work with - it feels like a magic wand in my hands.

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I had another breakthrough when I discovered diamond tools. Diamond is by far the hardest material in the world, and these days, a wide variety of grinding and cutting wheels impregnated with industrial diamonds are available. They are more expensive but well worth the time they save and the finesse they give my magic wand.

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When I begin a carving, I use a very aggressive diamond wheel to rough things out. Then I work my way through more precise diamond cutters and grinding wheels to refine the shape. When I am getting close to the final design, I use different polishing wheels, each one finer than the last. The finishing touch is... the finish. I used to use masonry lacquer, which gave the rock a wet look and deepened the colour, but I found it hard to work with. Now, my preferred finish is a mixture of waxes in a solvent base. It is easy to apply and, when it dries, it gives the piece the look of finely polished furniture.​

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                                                                      On Writing

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Who am I to talk about writing? I suppose having three plays produced and three novels published give a bit of cred, so here goes.

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There is no secret to writing – just start writing… every day. Best to set aside the same slot every day, if you can manage it; if not, write when you can. Write about what you know and write the kind of things you enjoy reading. For me, I enjoy adventure stories with quirky characters and a touch of humour as well as things of a spiritual nature, and these interests led to “The Sedona Chronicles” series and “Conversations with Jesus Over a Cup of Coffee.”

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Don’t think you have to have all the details worked out before you start. Writing is an organic process. Each author has their own style. Other than basic rules of grammar and spelling, just about anything goes these days. When I started writing “The Caverns of Sedona,” I had a basic plot in mind – what if the entrance to the fabled The Caverns of Sedona was discovered – but I had no idea what was going to happen once my group of intrepid explorers got into the cave. Every chapter turned out to be a new part of the adventure as I walked along in the gloom with my new friends. What I did have was confidence in the cave explorers to handle any situation they encountered.

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Writing is an adventure. You are creating something that would not exist without you. Enjoy the experience and have fun with it. I have accomplished many things in my life, such as achieving an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Geology, travelling around the world, starring in my own TV show, and being granted a US patent for a rappelling device I invented, but nothing rivals the pride of holding in my hands a book that I have written myself. Now that’s an achievement!