Stonemasonry may seem a lost art, but one family has helped to keep the craft alive in Canada for over a century.

Saanich Peninsula resident Adam Kent is a fifth-generation master stonemason whose Polish great-great-grandfather passed the knowledge down after emigrating to Saskatoon in the early 1900s.

B次元官网网址淢y great-grandpa and great-great-grandpa had a farm in Saskatchewan in Fish Creek and they used to do masonry all around the area, building farmhouses and schoolhouses and things like that,B次元官网网址� Kent said. B次元官网网址淭hen my great-grandpa worked for the federal government building monuments for 25 years and thatB次元官网网址檚 how my dad started working with him.B次元官网网址�

Kent grew up in Saskatoon and as a teenager began learning the trade alongside his dad. He fell in love with it, much like the men in his family before him.

In 2018, Kent and his wife moved to the Peninsula for a lifestyle change, seeing as work was slow through the long prairie winters. Here on the Island, his work is much more steady throughout the year, he said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely a lost art and I want to build something thatB次元官网网址檚 going to be cherished and loved through many generations,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 the beautiful thing about building with stone, itB次元官网网址檚 more permanent.B次元官网网址�

Time is invested in every piece, he said, adding many skilled trades have been replaced by faster and lower quality means of production. B次元官网网址淢any buildings and stone pieces are slapped together with very little care.B次元官网网址�

Carrying on the legacy of his craft by taking time to ensure detail and quality are met to the highest degree is important to him.

KentB次元官网网址檚 current primary focus is on building fireplaces B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渢he heart of the homeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� with stones he forages himself in fields and valleys.

B次元官网网址淚 split those into smaller workable pieces and bring them to the site,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淓very stone is different so you have to judge what you can and canB次元官网网址檛 do with each unique stone. You have to know how you can shape that stone before you even start working with it B次元官网网址� I have to be able to read them.B次元官网网址�

Sharing his passion and his art with the world is what brings Kent joy, he said, and he hopes to pass the craft on to his four-year-old son, who is already displaying curiosity about his dadB次元官网网址檚 work.

B次元官网网址淭o give that piece of me to people when I make them something is very near and dear to me.B次元官网网址�

Do you have a story tip? Email: megan.atkinsbaker@saanichnews.com.

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