‘Ars Longa, Vita Brevis Est’ means ‘Art Endures, Life is Brief’ and is a Latin translation of a quote attributed to Hippocrates. The piece is 60 x 40 x 2 cm. thick and is hand carved and painted with enamels on Cathedral stone from Jerusalem.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Eric travelled in Europe before studying Art Restoration and Calligraphy at the City and Guilds of London Art School. Following college, he had a six month apprenticeship with the Belgian letter-sculptor, Pieter Boudens in Bruges. After several years of freelance lettering in London, he moved to Cambridge in 1990 and worked at David Kindersley’s Workshop for five years before joining the Carving Workshop in Cambridge. Eric set up on his own in 1998 in a deconsecrated chapel on the outskirts of Cambridge where he runs a workshop as well as teaching courses in lettercarving for the Lettering and Commemorative Arts Trust.

‘Having studied art history at university, I did the Restoration course at the City and Guilds of London. I was drawn towards carved lettering but was aware that a knowledge of calligraphy was essential to the understanding of letterform, so I stayed on for a post-graduate year in the Lettering Department.

‘Unable at that time to find the training that only experience in a workshop can give, I went to Belgium and worked with Pieter Boudens for six months. It was only when I got into David Kindersley’s Workshop in Cambridge at the ripe old age of 32 that my real training began. It was perhaps because of the time it took me to train that I was sympathetic to the idea of taking on a mature apprentice in Peter Hampson when offered the chance by the Memorial Arts Charity.’