Published: September 19, 2007 11:58 am      

A career etched in stone: Monument designer churns out 400 pieces yearly

Most good artists create to please themselves, but Dan Davis is not like that.

You might not be familiar with Davis, but you have probably seen his work, all of which was created to satisfy others.

A job search in 1988 landed Davis at Charlestown Monument. For the past 19 years, Davis has designed monuments for graves at area cemeteries.

“I was looking for a job for an artist,” said Davis. “[Company owner Jeff Grayson] was looking for someone to do artwork.

“The artistic aspect of the job was similar to the training I had in college.”

Davis, 45, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Murray State University. A native of Bullitt County, Ky., he now lives in Henryville.

Davis’ canvasses, so to speak, are generally granite or marble and can cost customers anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. His work is augmented by computer, but in the end it is still his mind and his hands that form stone — sometimes decorated with bronze or stained glass — into his customers’ ideas of fitting memorials for their loved ones.

“The majority of the work is done using a sand blast process,” he said.

“Bronze works really well with stone,” Davis said. “Stained glass is probably something that’s a little more modern.

From his Charlestown workshop, Davis designs about 400 monuments per year. While he rarely knows those for who he designs monuments, he tries to learn what he can from family members.

“Sometimes it helps to kind of think, ‘What stone would I want to create for someone I know?’” he said. “Each person does matter. Even though I don’t know each person, each person deserves respect; a monument to their life.”

It’s that personal connection that helps Davis in his craft, said Grayson, president of Charlestown Monument.

“He’s very artistic and he’s very understanding of the people’s needs,” Grayson said.

He said Davis is almost always working with people shortly after they’ve lost a loved one, but that he has developed a particular grace for such situations.

“He’s very compassionate,” said Grayson.

And then there’s Davis’ art, of which Grayson expressed pride.

“His artistic ability speaks for itself,” Grayson said.

Generally, monuments take six to eight weeks to produce, but times can vary beyond that depending on the availability of the stone and the complexity of the design.

Davis creates his designs on computer. Once a customer has approved a design, Davis creates a life-sized template, using Mylar and a large-format printer. The templates are cut as stencils and affixed to the stones and the sand blasting begins.

“There’s quite a bit to it,” he said. “There’s a lot of manual work that goes into each of them.

“Mistakes are something we try to avoid,” said Davis. “Mistakes are very difficult to correct once it’s cut in stone.”



DAN DAVIS

• AGE: 45

• RESIDES: Henryville

• EDUCATION: Bachelor of Fine Arts, Murray State University

• CAREER: Monument designer, Charlestown Monument, for 19 years

• HOBBIES: Playing guitar (classic rock), hiking, kayaking and riding his 1982 Harley-Davidson Super Glide