"Our most important obligation is to keep tradition alive, satisfying clientele with excellence in granite craftsmanship. Since 1891, my family has been continuously employed in the USA Granite Industry, from the harshest quarries to the finest sculpture studios. My wife Beth, daughter Carolina and I welcome your visit to our traditional sculpture studio." AC Button II, Traditional Granite Sculptor Carolina Sculpture Studio 193 Twin Creek Drive Boiling Springs, SC 29316-5467 (864) 814-6418 Ph/FAX         email: cbbutton@bellsouth.net

My name is AC Button II. I work exclusively as a Professional Granite Sculptor for the USA monument and memorial industry, continuing a family tradition established in 1891 in Barre, Vermont. All included photographs are of my recent works; all cut by hand from solid granite. Much of my work has been producing re-cuts of jobs previously completed by competing sculptors but refused by the customer, dealer and/or cemetery due to quality concerns. Those who recognized the value of my work, especially when considering the additional budget, schedule and potential legal concerns often required by such re-cuts, have been quite satisfied. My work has never been cheap, but has repeatedly been recognized as among the highest quality available in the industry, regardless of origin.

Sculptor Joseph Bruno stated "we must somehow be able to differentiate again between art and art therapy." I find this statement to be quite relevant in comparing my work to that of many contemporary artists. I am an artist working as an artisan. My work is all painfully deliberate, producing to the customer's demands- good, bad or ugly. Often considered by contemporary artists to be "standardized", the work I produce is exactly that. I strive to produce the standard that others feel they need to respond to through subsequent works. We do not sign our work, because it is not our place to do so. Peers recognize each other's work almost instantly, even among a cemetery full of stones. When the impact of my work cannot be distinguished from that of preceding Master Sculptors, I have succeeded in perpetuating the lessons they struggled to accomplish and then graciously shared with me.

After years of study and industry-specific employment in Barre, VT under family and the very best Master Stone Cutters and Carrara-trained Master Sculptors in the industry, I returned to Spartanburg, SC. Carolina Sculpture Studio fills a void left in the Southeast by my relative Master Sculptor Dario Rossi (1997 GA Artist of the Year), who recently retired after 35 years of industry service in nearby Elberton, GA. With tools, guidance and blessings from Dario, plus knowledge & experience endowed by my cousin Master Stonecutter & Sculptor Andy Hebert, Master Sculptors Gary Sassi, Guiliano Cecchinelli, Jim Sardonis, Angelo Ambrosini & Phil Paini, my maternal grandfather Edward G. Melvin & great grandfather William Beattie Melvin, Master Toolsmith Bernie Scott & Sculptor Ryan Mayes, as well as many others, I will keep this craft alive for another generation. By training and leaving to fill the need elsewhere, as did my great Grandfather and Grandfather Melvin (from Scotland to Barre) and Dario (from Italy to Elberton), I once again honor their achievements.

Providing an exclusive sculpture service to the industry and public unavailable in the Southeast in the recent past, Carolina Sculpture Studio offers a level of quality and excellence of product rival to any source. Customers direct the subject matter of our work, ranging from interpretive to realistic, stylized to portrait quality.

I have been fully and formally trained as a Professional Granite Sculptor, including repairs and refinishing of damaged granite and marble statuary, scale model development, fabrication and reproduction, portrait work, and the nearly lost art of true "deep-" or "shell rock pitch". I also produce clay or plastilina models for custom plaques and statuary, for bronze or other media, in any scale or size. Previously employed as a professional wood carver (primarily cherry and mahogany) in the reproduction furniture industry, I am also a national-level award-winning ice sculptor. This experience allows me to offer services for architectural development and restoration as well, such as plaster ornamentation, wood/stone bracketry and similar tasks. My shops and studio are fully equipped to produce most items on-site. My wife earned her B.A. in Fine Art in 1994 and was certified in elementary education by the State of Maryland. She has wide experience in multi-media projects- from small scale to heroic murals. This is our full time vocation - not a part time endeavor.

Our intimate involvement within the professional granite industry denotes the quality of our product and the integrity of our operations. Primary companies, often with reputations built over more than a century, cannot afford to accommodate anyone of potential liability. Carolina Sculpture Studio can offer the extended infrastructure to fully service your project, from initial conception to final installation, wholly at a professional level. This provides additional incentive to patrons outside the industry. Use of the appropriate resources also offers potential industry-level publicity for the patron- very beneficial for those repeatedly involved with significant projects and interested in expanding their clientele base.

We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

AC Button II, Traditional Granite Sculptor & L. Beth Button, Professional Artist