How did you become a stone master?
I am a sculptor by destiny. My grandfather, father, brothers, almost everybody in the family, worked with stone. I remember, when my father was constructing our house, I was in my first grade and was carving tuff stones.
Where did you study?
When I finished high school, it was clear that I was going to go to Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, to study at an art college. I started as a painter, later continuing as a sculptor. It is now 30 years that I have been making cross-stones.
©Tatevik Malumyan
What is unique about your cross-stones?
They do not resemble each other and do not resemble other cross-stones. I can use two, even three colours in one cross-stone. I have my approach to everything; abstract, but simple and beautiful.
Why is it important to know a craft?
In old times everybody believed that a craft could turn your hands into gold. The craft was a source of money until technology came into our lives and young people lost their interest in crafts. Craft is a philosophy. I would like schools to offer different crafts as I believe it makes children more creative.