About an hour's drive west of where we live there was an Italian artisan whose business was poured cement statuary, and we loved going over to have a look at what he had scattered about his large rural yard. There was classical statuary of all sizes, urns and vases, gargoyles and fountains and garden seats, concrete animalia, all manner of wonderful garden ornaments that we enjoyed looking at. And had aspirations to acquire.

Demeter

When we were fairly new in the house we've now lived in for the past 24 years, we asked if he would produce a balustrade for us to the specifications of our porch. We wouldn't have asked if we hadn't seen that he'd done something very similar on his own porch, as a demonstration of what he could produce. He agreed, made what we wanted to the dimensions matching our requirements, and my husband installed it all. We were more than happy with the results.

And then we began gradually to acquire classical pieces from him, some statuary, some large 'stone' urns to place around the gardens. By the time, over the passing years, that we had acquired all the pieces that we felt a small property like ours could or should contain, he was very ill, his wife who helped him in the yard with queries from potential clients had died, and his son was prepared to take over the business.

Discobolus

He began going to those places in Italy where like his father he would buy the moulds they used in the business. He was a large and strong man like his father, and it was clear the business would survive. But their home and the business it contained had been slowly encroached upon by the growing need to build new homes within the city and what was once rural became urban, and they sold their property. If they were still there, we'd drop by to say hello and roam about the property looking at their new productions.

Things change, people move on, and we build memories of what once was. They were very amenable, sweet-natured people, wholly engrossed in the art and antiquity of what they produced, pleased to see that others were as fascinated with what they found of value, as they were.

The Three Graces