Meet The New Martin Cooney STONEWORKS

Posted on February 21, 2025August 6, 2025 by Martin Cooney, Stone Sculptor

Tremendous News

It’s Not Everyday that I get to Announce Something HUGE, but Today I have an Important Announcement that will Change EVERYTHING

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You can have no idea just how happy these pictures make me feel, and Kris too for that matter, we are both thrilled as can be about what you are about to see. Because, I won’t deny, we have faced a difficult few years, that’s for sure, what with the great upheaval from Aspen, and all that came with it. But now we face the future with excitement and expectation. Because, just wait until you see this – you won’t believe your eyes.

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What you are looking at is the entrance to the new Martin Cooney Stoneworks in Council Grove, Kansas. The building was purchased last month by Kelley and Jill Judd, two local residents who have kindly decided to enter into a business with Kris and I in order to create what Kelley calls a truly “World Class Stone Carving Facility … Second to None”. And, that is EXACTLY what we are about to do.

Kelly and Jill are both tremendous people who befriended us almost upon arrival in Council Grove, back when we were roving around in our big black bus searching for a suitable place to relocate. It was all very strange, really, because Council Grove was the first little Kansas town that we had actually ever driven into. Like most people, when we made our way across Kansas many years ago, we clung steadily to the nearby I-70 freeway, and so never really saw or experienced ‘the real Kansas’, as they say. So when we pulled off the Interstate back in June of 2023 we had no real idea of what The Sunflower State would offer. And as we pulled into Council Grove it suddenly became obvious that we were entering a very nice little town indeed. Consequently, after just a few short blocks, I exclaimed to Kris that, “hey, this looks like a nice place, maybe we could live around here”. Little did we know how prophetic that remark would be. And as we noted the nice old houses and neat brick-topped streets a bright white church loomed up on the right and I blithely let out, “and maybe we could go to that church”, little knowing how things would unfold.

Well, they unfolded very nicely indeed. And to cut a long story short, we did indeed go to that church, which is where we met Kelley and Jill. They came out as we were leaving after the service and were very friendly indeed – inviting us back to their lovely, gorgeous local limestone historic house, where we immediately bonded and have remained good friends ever since. So, fast forward 18 months and by this time Kelley and Jill have witnessed our efforts in bringing the Walled Garden of Woody Creek to fruition last summer, and have had time to assess the sculpture and carvings that now adorn the place, and a while ago approached us with the offer of starting a business together, IF ever a suitable building would present itself in Council Grove. Well, wouldn’t you know it – almost as soon as the agreement was made, JUST such a building presented itself by coming up for sale, and it’s the one I am now going to reveal to you. And what a beauty it is too.

Please click on a photo to enlarge

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To be honest, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I drove by and realised that the building I had been ogling, since the time Kelley presented his offer to me, had just popped up on the market. Quick as can be, I was on the phone heaping praise on the place, and at the first possible moment the realator – a lovely lady called Denise Hartman – was unlocking the door and letting us in. Well, I could not have been happier with what I saw. The place was perfect. I had already scoped out the exterior of the building many times before, even before Kelley’s proposal, for that’s how I think; would that make a potential stone carving workshop – or banker workshop, as I call it? And I always thought, yes, it most certainly would. Also, I knew that it was a boat dock workshop, meaning lots of welding equipment and paraphernalia would be contained within those tall brick walls. Also, the huge windows would let in a lot of light, so the potential was definately there, which can’t be said about too many light industrial buildings. Plus, the lot it stood on was huge and ideal for stone trucks to get in and out … which they already have, as you will see. But the shock of what I saw upon entering the building was nothing short of sensational … a really, really lovely American welding shop, complete with heavyweight cranes, large welded tables and shelves, and most amazing of all, a huge commercial compressor with outlets spread around the entire place. I thought I was in heaven. Take a look at what greeted me … go on, click on a picture for a better view.

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Well, it doesn’t look quite this way now, I can tell you. The boat is gone, of course, but so is all the clutter, and what’s left is one big, great space, ready to morph into a the world class stone carving workshop that Kelley, Jill, Kris and I can already see in our mind’s eye – or, at least I can. And it is I who will put it together, piece by piece, and hopefully in no time at all. Because that’s the best part about this “Liberty Building” – so called because it stands at 121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas – is that due to its former usage, everything needed for a bankershop is already set in place. Therefore, hopefully by this spring or summer, the Martin Cooney School of Excellence (great name, eh?) will be up and running, and people from across the country and beyond will be able to enroll and carve stone in what we consider will be the best possible amenity of its kind … anywhere. But more on that at a later date. But right now, the news just keeps on getting better, and better.

As if things couldn’t be more exciting, imagine this: a three ton block of Colorado Yule Marble, delivered right into the heart of the stoneworks, where it sits right now awaiting to become my Collection Series’ Fourth Collection: The Liberty Collection, of course. And here it is … being unloaded and forked into the workshop.

This is Pastor Rich, by the way, giving his blessing and approval of the whole procedure. It was his thoughtful and inspiring sermons at the bright white church – proper title, The Community Church of Council Grove, by the way – that drew us to the place, and thus played a crucial role in the events that are now unfolding before ours, and his, eyes.

So, here it is – the block that is going to bring the Collection Series back to life. It weighs a tad over three tons, and measures roughly 3 feet by 5 feet by 2 feet. And yes, I know what you are thinking; ‘I thought a three ton block of marble would be much bigger than that’, and you wouldn’t be alone in thinking that. In fact, everybody thinks this. Everybody. But it just serves to illustrate my point: that is why I am a Reductionist Sculptor. Think about it. Marble weighs in at roughly 160 to 165 lbs per cubic foot – that’s 12 x 12 x 12 inches ! This is what I keep telling everyone, marble is very, very heavy indeed. So, next time you see a standard marble sculpture ask yourself, ‘I wonder how much that thing weighs’? Answer: a lot. Now, contrast and compare with my signature Curvilinear Reductionist Sculpture and you will be amazed. There is hardly any marble sculpture of any size that can simply be picked up and moved around – except for my Collection Series, that is. By the time I am finished with a cubic foot of marble it stretches something like 18 inches, by say 12 inches, by perhaps 8 inches, and can be picked up and easily moved around – with the total weight of a young child, or even a baby for that matter. I weighed in at around 11 lbs when born, and that is the weight of my lightest sculpture, a bowl called The Pearl, who tips the scales at almost the same weight, although she started out at around 100 lbs, if memory serves. So, bear all of this in mind as we begin the journey to the Liberty Collection finishing line. I expect to carve something like 20 or so sculptures from that block – so stay tuned, and we’ll see what comes out of it.

In fact, this is a poignant and interesting moment, since all of the sculptures that this block will eventually reveal are in there – my job (as a great man once said) is to release them. Something to ponder indeed, and perhaps explains my excitement at being lucky enough to announce myself to the world as a Curvilinear Reductionist Marble Sculptor. And, to this end, the journey has already began. Because the block has already been split, and the first sculpture awaits to be released, and sits upon my banker right now, as I type this. And come Monday (it’s Friday now), the Liberty Collection will be well and truly underway.

All I was awaiting was for this formidable accomplice to arrive – that’s right, it is nothing short of the best hammer drill on the market, a Bosc, no less. And let me tell you, when I drilled those pilot holes for the plug and feathers, it sank into the stone like it just wasn’t there. WHAT a beauty. But more on that at a later date, when I have more to report. And believe me, I WILL have much MUCH more to report. Because these are EXCITING times, otherwise I wouldn’t be reduced to splashing capital letters around like an overly excited child at Christmas.

Oh boy, this is going to be GREAT. So, please stay tuned, click on the subscribe button at the top of the column to the right, and we’ll navigate this journey together.

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Now, please enjoy the slideshow.