Miloš Jovanović, stonemason
In 2021, Miloš established his workshop Atelje Jovanović as one of the youngest stone masons in Serbia. Using traditional techniques for shaping marble, his work brings a significant variation of motives and products – from sacral to every-day decorative objects.
- Name of Craft in the local language
- Klesar, Atelje Jovanović
- Type of Craft
- Traditional production of sacral and every-day (decorative) 2D and 3D stone elements
- Knowledge Holder
- Miloš Jovanović
- Location, Website
- Janićija Đurića 6, 34300 Aranđelovac, Serbia Link to website
- Contact
- milos98888@gmail.com, +381 64 5059641
- Type of Business
- Newly founded workshop
- Year of Establishment
- 2021
- Successors
- No
- Workshop and sales space
- 20 m² (work area and storage space)
- Materials
- Prilep and Kavala Marble
- Technology / Tools / Machines
- Points, chisels, files, sandpaper, grinders, Biax tools, small and large face grinders, brushes for coating, 3D printing for study models
- Techniques / Processes
- Puncturing, cutting, filing, polishing, coating
- Members / Employees
- 1
- Apprentices
- Not looking for an apprentice
- Education of the Craftsperson
- Department of Design and Artistic Shaping of Stone at the College of Technological Vocational Studies in Aranđwlovac, under the mentorship of Prof. dr Vladan Martinović; 3-year apprenticeship period.
- Best-selling product
- Stone wall decorations, ashtrays Stone elements for sacral objects – plaques with Christ, Studenica and Dečani cross motives, iconostases, friezes, pillar bases, beams, portrait busts, fountains
- Average time of production
- Depending on the size of the decorative plaque, up to 7 days (minimum) Ashtrays depending on the type, one day (minimum)
- Average price per item
- Starting from 25 Euros
The techniques of stone masoning used by Miloš can in their basic principles be traced back to the medieval stone masoning characteristic of religious art in the region. His first commission having included participation in the carving of the iconostasis (ornaments, beams, friezes, bases) of the St. Sava Temple, in size and importance the largest sacral object in the country, he gradually mastered the medieval techniques, still nurtured in the Serbian Orthodox artistic milieu. At that time, he was only 21 years old.
He gained his formal training at the Department of Design and Artistic Shaping of Stone in Aranđelovac, under the caring wing of Prof. Vladan Martinović, PhD. The city of Aranđelovac has a long tradition of working with stone – of its extracting, processing, as well as artistic shaping, as the city is located at the foot of the largest cumulation of marble – Venčac. Ever since the 1960s Aranđelovac has been home to the ‘Beli Venčac’ Symposium of Sculptures, which gathered the most significant artistic names of Yugoslavia, leaning on the pre-war tradition of sculpture making and exhibiting in public space. To this effect it is not a surprise that Miloš chose this path, or that ‘stone chose him.’
Stone as a material suits me, it is mine.
Miloš Jovanović
Miloš’s stone of preference is marble, due to its structure and possibility of shaping on the one hand, and on the other hand due to its chemical properties, as its dust is absorbable within the human body, unlike granite’s.
Jovanović Atelier is located on the top floor of Miloš’s family home in the Kolonija neighbourhood in Aranđelovac. The hilly area is populated by many stone cutting and processing workshops, with a view of the surrounding mountain tops. The workshop is bathed in natural light coming from large windows.
It is divided into two spaces – the work area, usually covered in fine stone dust, and the storage area, filled with the highly demanded ashtrays. The size of the workshop does not allow for large scale objects to be produced, so Miloš is known for creating objects in situ. In some cases, if the weather allows, he uses the back garden for working on projects with larger dimensions. In the future, he sees a possibility to enlarge his workspace and locate his atelier in the back yard of the family home. Stone itself is not stored in the workshop, when it comes to more specific objects, and is instead cut on demand. For the serial objects, such are ashtrays, he stores the material as it becomes available.
The complexity of the production process is closely related to the type and size of the object made. In the case of more detailed work, the extraction of motives such as a feather or a decorative cross requires meticulous technique and attention to detail.
The process starts with the selection of stone and direct communication with stone cutters. For the production of more commercial and serial objects such as the ashtrays, he uses residual stone from exterior and interior building. In doing so, he repurposes marble and creates objects of added aesthetic, functional, and economic value.
Masoning starts with punctuation and sketching of the motive, which is followed by a careful delayering of marble. The fine work of filling and edge grinding is the crossing of the finish line, which entails the final polishing and coating of the stone to prevent its natural deterioration when exposed to the natural surroundings. Miloš recognizes the numerous possibilities and benefits of using digital fabrication for the production of 3D objects such as busts, as the usually long segment of creating a clay study can thus be bridged.
Jovanović Atelier offers two types of decorative stone objects: objects made on commission and the serial ones. When working on commission, Miloš produces decorative stone objects of varied size and with a plethora of potential motives.
He started his career by stone masoning religious objects, placed in church buildings and their yards, or used as small relics. Serbian Orthodox Church is still the largest commissioner of stone-masoned objects, and such commissions are usually made of marble selected by the commissioner. However, for decorative plaques with different motives Miloš prefers working with Prilep and Kavala marble, and he can produce mixed stone objects as well.
Serial objects coming from Jovanović Atelier – the cigar ashtrays in cubic shape with a decorative garland, and flat rectangular shape with minimalistic design – are made of repurposed residual stone coming from construction sites, and they are partially tied to subcontracting with a luxury goods distributer.
