Hand designed & carved lettering for Memorials, Gardens & Home Art created by Lisi Ashbridge itswritteninstone@gmail.com 
I feature, as a representative of the LAT, in this beautiful new book 'Craft Britain - why making matters' written by Helen Chislett & David Linley. It is a celebration of British craft both heritage and contemporary that combines true excellence and mastery of technique with innovation and an eye for design.
You can see the current travelling exhibition THE NEREIDS - 20 February - 10 March at the Moseley Baths, Birmingham put on by the Lettering Arts Trust. Click here to read more about it.
This is my new piece 'Amphitrite - Queen of the Sea' (my first one 'Pherousa' sold in the last exhibition).
In this piece the abstract asemic writing lets the viewer decide what they want to see and how to read Amphitrite's story. Every time you 'read' it you might get a different story.
Carved in oak and slate - two strong ancient natural materials
I am honoured to have been asked to be a trustee of this incredibly important charity, the Lettering Arts Trust (LAT). Its mission is to ensure that the heritage craft of hand-carved lettering continues to flourish by raising funding for apprenticeships and journeymen scholarships.
The charity started as Memorials by Artists and now does not only take commissions for memorials but any letter carving projects. The LAT hosts events and exhibitions and has a national collection of artworks around the UK to bring hand-carved lettering to the people.
The stringent selection process to become one of the artist members ensures long-lasting high-quality in the craft.
2-4 June, 10 am - 4 pm
15-17 September, 10 am - 4 pm
Highgrove Traditional Crafts, Doughton, Tetbury, GL8 8TQ
I have been asked to run a three-day letter carving course for the Prince's Foundation at their new craft centre at Highgrove House. This is an introduction to letter carving and is suitable for beginners. We are keeping the numbers low, only 6 places, so there will be plenty of one-to-one tuition. We even have our own bespoke tour of Highgrove Gardens!
There is some accommodation available on site, please inquire.
To find out more about the course or to book click here for the June course, here for the September course, or just get in touch with me.
10-12 March 2023
Friday and Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm
Come and pop in - I am demonstrating letter carving alongside six other QEST (Queen Elizabeth Sponsorship Trust) scholars at the vibrant Cheltenham Craft Festival. There will be 100 selected makers showing their high-end products - leatherwork, ceramics, furniture, glass, silver works and much more. For further information clickhere.
October 2022
Broughton, Hampshire SO20 8AZ
01794 301144 / 07739 809836
I am very excited to show at Rachel Bebb's new Contemporary Art Gallery. For 28 years Rachel has very successfully run the Garden Gallery but has now changed format. The Contemporary Art Gallery will exhibit small sculptures for interiors, ceramics, wood engravings, engraved glass, original prints and letter carving in stone, slate and wood. Some examples of the latter will be shown outside and are suitable for gardens. The gallery will offer unique art for interiors, and a resource for interior designers as well as homeowners.
I will be showing traditional lettering in slate and wood as well as my abstract asemic carvings.
For more information click here and a Private View invitation here.
Sunday 5th June - Sunday 26th June 2022
Come and have a great day out in this beautiful garden and sculpture park at The Old Rectory in the Cotswold village of Quenington - a creative mixture of traditional, modern and cutting-edge sculpture in a stunning outdoor setting. For more information click here.
Saturday 14th May & Sunday 15th May 2022
As an alumnus of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), the Royal Warrant Holder's scholarship, I will be showing my work and demonstrating my craft at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. I will be there on Saturday and Sunday, so do come along for a fantastic day out - not just for horse lovers!
I have been asked to create a stone for the Priory Gardens, Marlborough to remember the Jazz Festival which ran from 1986 to 2016. The installation was unveiled by British Jazz Vocalist Clare Teal, in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, the Mayor of Marlborough, Chris Jagger and many other interested people.
Next time you are in Marlborough why not take a break and wander through this beautiful public garden at the centre of this pretty market town?
Or read the local news article here
As an elected member of the British Master Carvers' Association, the oldest association of wood and stone carvers in the UK, I am taking part in this traveling exhibition to celebrate the tercentenary of Grinling Gibbons - arguably the most famous British carver. Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh
'Summer' - Slate Platter
Based on the sheet music carved on the left-hand side book of the
‘musical trophy’ in the dining room at Petworth House.
Lynda Sayce, in her article (co-written with David Esterly): “‘He was likewise musical…’ An unexplored aspect of Grinling Gibbons” (Apollo, June 2000) identified that:
‘The carving of musical score and instruments with sufficient precision to bear close scrutiny is an accomplishment that Gibbons alone among English baroque woodcarvers appears to have possessed.’
So much so that they concluded that a sheet of performable music is a ‘personal and distinctive’ signature to Gibbons, maybe even more so than the legendary adopted ‘peapod’ trademark.
Lynda Sayce has identified the carving as incorporating passages from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell, an opera based on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream first performed in 1692 at the Dorset Garden Theatre, composed in honour of the 15th wedding anniversary of King William III and Mary II, in the same year as Gibbons carved the ‘musical trophy’, indicating ‘how much Gibbons remained closely in touch with current musical events’.
I have chosen the words from the musical score from the left-hand book which annotates the opening bars of ‘Here’s the Summer, Sprightly, Gay’ from Act 4. In Gibbon’s carving, he did not include the words, but the melody and bass are very accurate and in the original key.
August 2021 is the start of a national touring exhibition celebrating 300 years of Grindling Gibbons (1648-1721), who was arguably the most famous Master woodcarver and sculptor of all time. Members of the Master Carvers' Association have been asked to exhibit work inspired by Gibbons alongside the original work. The show opens at St Mary Abcurch, City of London, on the 2nd of August and then will move at the end of the month to the Duch Church in London.
Lisi has been invited to exhibit several pieces of artwork at the Fresh Air Sculpture exhibition in Gloucestershire in July. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the decision has been made to postpone this exhibition until June 2021.
© 2023 Lisi Ashbridge | It's Written in Stone, Wiltshire | itswritteninstone@gmail.com | tel: 07979 761 439 | Find me on 
Stone & wood lettering for memorials, headstones, garden and home art