鈥淚鈥檓 not the typical French stone cutter,鈥� admits Stella Cheng. 鈥淚鈥檓 short, a woman, of Asian-American origin and from California.鈥�
Her 40-plus year career culminated with a final project like no other: carving the south portal gable 鈥� known as the rose du midi 鈥� as part of the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Astonishingly, she ranks the experience only third on her list of career highlights, after Reims and Rodez cathedrals.
Indeed, Reims is where her love for France was born, having studied its Gothic architecture by poring over library books back in her native US.
In 1989, the International Masonry Institute in Washington DC awarded her a fellowship and she joined the Compagnons du Devoir and moved to France to work on Reims Cathedral.
鈥淢y career went full circle,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t began with a meeting with then-Culture Minister Jack Lang in 1990 and ended with Rachida Dati [the current minister] in 2024.鈥�
She spoke to The Connexion about helping to rebuild Notre Dame, her career trajectory, and the racism and misogyny she has endured along the way.
How was the Notre Dame project different to other cathedrals you have worked on?
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Notre Dame was my tenth cathedral. Others I have worked on include Albi, Narbonne, Mende, Auch, Rodez, Montpellier and Tulle.
It was great working on it. However, it was more about restoring Viollet-le-Duc鈥檚 architecture [who oversaw renovation of the cathedral in the 19th Century] than pure Gothic work.
Stella Cheng
Also, they used a lot of cutting-edge technology to get it done quickly. All of our stones were cut by robots. It took a lot of excess material out. It means you attack the form directly, which is a completely different approach.鈥�
Each flower, leaf or animal had to be different from the others, not lookalikes. You want to make them realistic and there are no two leaves in nature that look alike.
It was closer to naturalism than realism. Stone-cutters generally want their work to conform to the original, unlike sculptors who try to get the closest representation of natural elements because the other way around tends to be a bit boring.
As long as we had the waviness of the leaves, and they moved in different directions, it was fine. We were given a lot of liberty.
What was the allure of French stone, or specifically Reims that drew you here?
These days, machines help cut stone, but stone cutters finish themStella Cheng
I have travelled a lot and I have never seen such stunning architecture, all in stone. It is magnificent here. It is not replicated elsewhere.
The Gothic style is so intriguing. I remember being in a library, flipping through the books, and having to sit down from the sheer beauty of Reims. It was mind-blowing and the first Gothic building I had seen.
During the interview for the fellowship, I told the jury: 鈥淲hether you give it to me or not, I am going anyway. I have got to work on that building.鈥�
My all-time favourite work, however, was for the Conseil R茅gional de l鈥橝veyron making replicas of menhir statues from 5,000 years ago.
In that case, the work was about copying. One inspector came every month to survey the project. Her comment is etched in my memory: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell which is the original and which is the copy!鈥�
Stella Cheng
Copying works from prehistory was thrilling because you have to put yourself in the shoes of the original artist. And as very little is known about their lifestyle, your imagination was called upon.
You have had to contend with a lot of misogyny and racism. Did you expect that?
On that level, no. The guild which hosted me when I first arrived in France had no idea I was a woman. They went into shock when I showed up on their doorstep.
In the 1980s, the guilds in France were still very closed to women, not even allowing them on their grounds or in their buildings when the aspiring masters were present, except for the house moms, who were called les dames h么tesses, or eventually les m猫res.
Somehow, I slipped through the cracks and lived on site at the guild house in Reims from 1989 to 1990, although I was barred from entering the stone cutters鈥� classroom until a year after I had arrived.
Women were only officially allowed in guild classrooms in 2004.
When they decided to open their centres to women, the majority of stone cutters left the guild. There was a violent split, with the cutters who left to form their own guild being completely erased from the history of the major guild.鈥�
Those who left used the same arguments which American racists in the South used to keep Blacks out of their schools, neighbourhoods and offices: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not racist/sexist, we just don鈥檛 think that mixed learning will be good for our members.鈥�
When the #MeToo movement took off, a lot of women raised their voices to say: 鈥淗ow dare you treat me like that?鈥�. In my own workshop, I have had people saying: 鈥淗ow dare you stop me from treating you like that?鈥�
There was a big backlash. I was really taken aback by that during the last years of my professional life.
Also, my trade is one where people die young. After many of my friends died I had to battle with younger generations, people in their thirties, with no consideration for my work or for the fact that I earned my spot.
I remember co-workers pinned photos of naked women all over our workshop. That was shocking to me. I thought: 鈥淗ere we go again, battling with the grandfathers鈥�.
The only difference with the US was that I have never felt physically in danger. It was more on an emotional and mental level.鈥�
My love of stones. I really, really love my trade and the rest did not matter. You cannot escape racism.
Having said that, my years in France were beautiful. I had a great time. It was an ideal life.
I am glad that a lot of women have tried the trade. Many left because they did not feel they belonged rather than the craft being too difficult.
I tried to talk to as many as I could; buying tools, chatting over lunch, suggesting ways to deal with prejudice. Some men made their lives very difficult. I am thinking about writing a book about my career and it is not always a pretty story.鈥�
Why did you choose Aveyron for retirement?
Geologically, it is the most diverse land. Every type of stone can be found here, except marble. It feels like a kind of destiny that I ended up here.
