mirella mcgee interivew

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[Mirella McGee] The apprentice stonemason Interview

Date: 24/04/2014

Location: Drawing board office

Length: [00:31:31]Interviewee: Mirella McGee

Interviewer: Andrei Allen

Transcriber: Andrei AllenNote: []

Time Transcribed

[00:02:05]

[00:03:23]

Q. What made you decide to become stonemason?

A. It was chance really that I became a stonemason. My sister and I

went to this site in Suffolk calledSutton Hoo, which is an Anglo-Saxon burial site and there was a man there who used to work at

Lincoln cathedral whom carved a sceptre from stone, and he said he

did courses, my sister wanted to go because shes quiet practical and

just enjoys working with her hands and stuff, and she made me go

with her and I had absolutely no idea what a stonemason was and no

interest in become one and I just went on this course and I really

enjoyed it, and then, I just started going on more and more courses

and getting worked experience and stuff and then I thought why dontI just try and pursue this properly. And I found out about

apprenticeships, and that cathedrals were pretty much the best placeto do one because of the standard of work and quality of teaching and

stuff, and so yea, just started getting as much work experience as I

could and then applied.

[00:03:26]

[00:03:51]Q. What sort of experience did you get from doing this work?

A. Patients probably, I was quiet, I dont know, impatient when I

started, and you cant really be like that, because everything takestime, and if you rush something it just goes wrong.

[00:04:48]

[00:05:30]

Q. How does it feel to work in the workshop, as opposed to doing an

office job?A.Umm, the thing is Ive never really had an office job, I cant say a

100%, its more relaxed than an office job would be, it doesnt feel

like work, it just feels like, your coming to a place and doing

something you enjoy doing, and you get paid for it, and your learning

always, I dont know, I dont think it has the same monotony that an

office job would have.

[00:07:28]

[00:07:37]Q. How long have you been a stonemason apprentice for?

A. I have been an apprentice stonemason for almost two years now, I

started in august of last year


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[00:15:14][00:15:55]

Q. What do you enjoy about doing this work?

A. Working here, I like that it doesnt feel like a job, its a nice

environment to work in and Ive made friends here, and I feel thatIve improved so much since when I first started, and that hopefully

by the time that I qualify I will be a very able stonemason, and would

be able to continue here, or I dont know, who knows?[00:16:33]

[00:17:14]

Q. What are you currently working on

A. At the moment Im doing a copy of the 12thcentury lion that is on

one of the capitals in the crypt which is being given to some people

that donated some money to the cathedral to support the apprentices

here, so its my first bit of carving that is really exciting, but also

really scary, but Im really enjoying it at the moment and its goingok, well mostly!

[00:17:56]

[00:18:46][00:18:56]

[00:19:11]

Q. Can you give me a brief example breaking down the stages of

how you would achieve the work that youve done so far?

A. So, first of all I went and looked at the lion in the crypt and I took

photos and just examined it really to see how the previous masons

had done it, and then I came back to the drawing office and took

photos off the internet and my phone n stuff and then drew a

version of my own that was based on it, I mean they look pretty

similar but there never going to look exact, erm, and just added a few

details myself that I thought were fitting,

And then I gridded it, and put and then I casts, no I didntI then done a clay model from the drawing, which was quiet, difficult

because Ive never done anything in clay, but it was ok, it looked

quiet like the drawing, which was a relief.I cast it in plaster, which was messy, but fun, and yea, at the moment

Im chipping away the waste cast, to get the actual plaster cast that I

want, so we do that so I can get the dimension from that and transfer

it onto the stone so that I can carve, and once Ive done that ill start

roughing out the stone and working it really.

[00:19:54]

[00:19:59]

Q. And how long would this process normally take?

A. I think I have until June, so hopefully it will be done by June

[00:20:09]

[00:20:29]

Q. How long have you been working on this piece of work for?

A. I think Ive been doing this piece for two weeks, so Ive been

doing it for two weeks, and I finish the cast this week, and start

roughing out the stone probably tomorrow[00:21:08]

[00:21:08]

Q. How do you feel that youve improved on this apprenticeship

in comparison to when you first started?

A. Well I think since first starting Ive definitely improved, but

everybody is going to if they work solidly at something for two years,

unless their actually bad at it, and its pretty difficult not to do well

here because our teachers are really good, Steveand yea, the

standard that is expected is really high so we have to push ourselves

to achieve this.My bank works probably my stongest thing, just because we having

really done that much on site, because weve just focused on bank

work, so yea I think I could almost work almost any stone with a bitof help if I needed it.


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[00:22:17]

[00:22:36]

[00:22:43]

[00:23:09]

Q. What motivates you to continue working as a stonemason?

A. I think the fact, I want to continue being a stonemason because I

enjoy it, and I dont think its like any other job really thats out there,I think its quiet unusual to find something

Im still quiet young, so I think to of found something that I probably

want to do for the foreseeable future is quiet unusual, but I mean, itsgood because how many people are coming out of UNI and having to

go into jobs that have nothing to do with their degree because there

isnt that much work

Yea, so I think working at the cathedral and um, I like the work, and

its part of something that is massive I guess, and has been around forages, for thousands of years, and your I guess becoming part of that,

so its just a really nice job.

[00:24:55]

[00:25:32]

Q. What do you want to achieve by the end of the course?

A. When Ive completed the apprenticeship here, I want to be a goodstone

I want to focus I think on conservation, because Im quiet interestedin conservation, so I really enjoy working with stone I want to carry

on with that, but also branch off little bit into the conservation of the

building and start maybe working on that side a little bit more.

[00:26:11]

[00:26:49]Q. How do you feel doing work thats contributing towards the

cathedral?

A.Working on this building is a privilege really, because I mean,how many people can say that the work they do is probably going to

probably be around for at least the next 600 years, and I just think its

permanent about it I guess, which is really nice, because were notgoing to be here for ever, so something at least will hang about a little

bit longer

[00:26:55][00:27:27]

Q. How do you get on with everybody whom you work with?

A. I think everyone at the cathedral gets on really well, I mean.

Theres your standard banter I guess, umm Yea we all get on very

well I think, really

[00:27:52]

[00:28:31]

Q. Why do you prefer working here instead of studying at college?

A. I prefer working the cathedral because I think its just a really

good environment to learn in, and you get a lot of one to one tutorials

i guess, from people whom are basically at the top of their craft, and

so you know that what theyre saying is going to help you, and I thinkjust because your working with adults more and people that really

want to be here, it just makes it a nice environment

[00:28:43]

[00:28:52]

Q. Currently, who is your master apprentice?

A. Steve Manual is the apprentice master of

Yea Steve is the apprentice master, and he basically teaches us

everything, and yea Hes the best

[00:29:02]

[00:27:52]

Q. How do you feel that his teaching skills are towards you?

A. I think Steve is a really good teacher, I mean, yea I couldnt

imagine anyone else really, his very patient, he never gets mad, even

though I do dumb stuff, yea I mean, even when things go wrong, its

fine, he just explains how to fix it and how not to make that mistakeagain.


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[00:29:59][00:27:52]

Q. Soap box question

A. I think that apprenticeships are probably the way to go at the

moment, just because so many people are going to UNI, and runningthemselves into debt, and they dont know that theres going to be a

job out there for them afterwards, so I think at the moment, if youre

interested into going into something more vocational I guess thanacademic, then do an apprenticeship, and I mean theres nothing to

stop you from going to UNI afterwards, and you could do a course

specific to what you trained in, which would make you really useful I

guess to companies, because youd have the hands on experience, and

also the academic side of it as well.

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