Based in Glenfarg in Perthshire, Gillian Forbes creates unique hand-carved pieces in a wide variety of British stone. After graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1988 and subsequently studying architectural stone carving at Weymouth College in Dorset, Gillian started her stonecarving business in 1995 in a small workshop on a farm in Perthshire. During this time, Gillian undertook a wide variety of both private & public art commissions, including carvings on Tay Street Flood Prevention Wall in Perth, large marine life elements in Morecambe, stone basilisks at Stirling Bridge, lettered panels on the Canongate Wall at the Scottish Parliament and most recently working with the sculptor John Maine to letter the memorial to Stephen Hawking in Westminster Abbey.
In 2005 she was awarded a QEST scholarship to France to learn casting, copy-carving & model-making & then in 2008 Gillian won the J.D Fergusson Award to travel to Carrara in Italy to learn to carve marble. She spends most days working in her workshop creating bespoke memorials for clients all over Scotland.
The basilisks are difficult to spot lying, as they are, prone on top of a pair of stone gate pillars in front of No. 3 Bridgehaugh.
Gillian’s work in Stirling includes not only these basislisks but the slate plaques on the park side of this wall and many written carvings on the pavings throughout Stirling, depicting the history of the area.
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