Robert Assié was born near St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, and now lives in Saskatoon. Robert is an architectural stone mason and sculptor. His formal education in stone carving and sculpture began in Weymouth, England, and he continued his studies and carving at L’abbey-de St-Antoine in France under master Claude Chevenement. Currently he is a carver and educator at Tesella Stone Carvers and for the Community Arts & Artisanship Program at the University of Saskatchewan. Robert was the first non-European winner in the history of the Munzien carving competition in Germany. Back in Saskatchewan, among other projects, he carved the large round piece of Tyndall stone with the crest of the U of S College of Kinesiology.
Robert on teaching: Classical stone carving is analogous to classical piano, ballet or even swimming. There is a progressing scale of difficulty in tool skills, drafting and visualization aimed towards developing the skills to reliably carve stone with accuracy and efficiency. The foundations are tool skills (dexterity with mallet and chisel), subtractive problem solving (mapping an efficient route to create a carving) and drafting/drawing skills (translating a 2d drawing into a 3d carving). Each project opens up new skills and opportunities to practice these skills. Progressively increasing visualization and mechanical abilities. Projects incorporate opportunities for artistic input from participants while maintaining sight of learning and improving carving skills.