Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Somerville resident picked up an unorthodox job during the pandemic that is now his full time career – gravestone carving.
Andrew Carr started as a graphic designer, but wanted work that he found more worthwhile to him.
“I just find this so much more rewarding,” said Carr. “The last company I was working for was a clothing company, and I was just designing email blasts or signage for aisle 5. One kind of design felt very disposable and the other felt very fulfilling.”
Carr said that he picked up chisels during the pandemic and from there started with some smaller carving work before launching into human gravestones.
“Started doing smaller house numbers at first and then worked my way up to pet gravestones and now I'm doing human memorials,” said Carr.
The kind of work that Andrew does is quite rare nowadays, as he carves every stone by hand, rather than most modern ones that are mass-produced. The gravestones could take up to a full year to complete.
Andrew said that this extra work and time was worth it to him.
“That’s really beautiful to me, families are crying when they see the work, and that’s very rewarding,” Carr said.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.