In Letter Arts Review magazine Volume 15 number 4, they feature a
stone carver named John Benson of Newport, RI. He seemed to work at a
place called the John Stevens Shop. Can you tell me if this shop still
does monument (or any kind of) stone carving, if they take on
apprentices, or how one could learn the craft?

In the same magazine, volume 14 number 4, (1998) they feature a woman
named Lida Lopes Cardozo who has a stone carving estalishment in
England. She used to take on apprentices. Can you find contact info
for her or her stone carving establishment?

Finally, I heard of a school in Rutland, Vermont possible called the
carving studio, that teaches stone carving. Can you find contact info
for me?

Dear buscuit,

Here is what I could find out:

-- John Benson --

John Benson is the current owner and master craftsman of the John
Stevens Shop, a stone carving workshop that was founded in 1705 and
belongs to the oldest continually operating businesses in the United
States. The workshop does indeed still do monument and other stone
carving; in 1996/97 for example, John Benson personally carved the
inscriptions for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
As a basic principle, the John Stevens Shop does obviously take on
apprentices. This website with a series of photographs from the
workshop includes images showing their apprentice Adam Heller at work:
http://www.nesbittphoto.com/htm/johnstev.htm
(Source: Alexander Nesbitt Photography - The John Stevens Shop)
Also, John Benson considers that "Apprenticing is the only way to
learn", so it is very likely that he is keen to pass on his handcraft
to following generations of carvers.
However, it is impossible to say whether the workshop is currently
taking on new apprentices and what their criteria for selection is. I
recommend to inquire for this in person:

The John Stevens Shop
29 Thames Street
Newport, RI 02840-2569
--
Phone: (401) 846-0566



-- Lida Lopes Cardozo --

Lida Lopes Cardozo's workshop, "The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop", is
located at this address in England:

The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop
152 Victoria Road
Cambridge
Cambridgeshire 
CB4 3DZ
United Kingdom
--
Telephone: +44(0)1223-362170
Website: http://www.kindersleyworkshop.co.uk/



-- The Carving Studio --

Here is contact information for the carving school in West Rutland, Vermont: 

The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center
636 Marble Street
PO Box 495
West Rutland, VT 05777
--
Phone: (802) 438-2097
Fax: (802) 438-2020
E-Mail: carving@vermontel.net
Website: http://www.carvingstudio.org/



Sources:

Lynn Wasnak: Destiny Carved in Stone - John Benson (PDF file)
http://www.lynnwasnak.com/benson.pdf

British Yellow Pages
http://www.yell.com/home.html

The Bookplate Society: Artists
http://www.bookplatesociety.org/artists.html

RIBA Product Selector: Cardozo Kindersley Workshop
http://www.productselector.co.uk/sitemap/..%5CDocs%5C3%5C11173%5Cexternal%5Ccov.htm

The Sculpture Studio: Stone Carving Tutorial
http://www.thesculpturestudio.com/stone_carving_tools.htm

Switchboard Online Telephone Directory
http://www.switchboard.com/

Portal Rhode Island: John Stevens Shop
http://www.portalrhodeisland.com/InfoSheet/35143.htm

Search terms used:
"Lida Lopes Cardozo"
://www.google.de/search?q=%22Lida+Lopes+Cardozo%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&btnG=Google+Suche
"Cardozo Kindersley Workshop" "152 victoria"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Cardozo+Kindersley+Workshop%22+%22152+victoria%22&btnG=Google+Suche
"rutland vt" "stone carving"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22rutland+vt%22+%22stone+carving%22&btnG=Google+Suche
"carving studio" "West Rutland"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22carving+studio%22+%22West+Rutland%22&btnG=Google+Suche
"john stevens shop" "john benson"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22john+stevens+shop%22+%22john+benson%22&btnG=Google+Suche
"john stevens shop" apprentice
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22john+stevens+shop%22+apprentice&btnG=Google+Suche
"john stevens shop" newport "29 thames"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22john+stevens+shop%22+newport+%2229+thames%22&btnG=Google+Suche


Hope this is helpful!
Regards,
Scriptor

Fabulous! Thank you so much.

Another option to consider is the Stone Arts School, at the Vermont
Granite Museum of Barre. Barre (pronounced Barry), calls itself the
Granite Capitol of the world, and has a long history of granite
monument carving.
Ask for Tom Belville, who directs the school, (802) 476-4605.

The website doesn't give much information, but here it is: 
http://www.granitemuseum.com/

Good Luck!!