Brick by brick Porter finds her way back to her roots

At the age of 32 Alicia Porter is embarking on a new career as an apprentice stonemason and, in a sense, returning to her roots.

After studying theatre production at Ryerson University she found employment in the hospitality industry and worked in it for more than a decade, eventually rising up to be the manager of a restaurant. Her goal was to start a business where she could apply her knowledge and experience of both fields.

“I wanted to create a restaurant and music venue that had a small theatre within the building — somewhere you could go for dinner, then head back for live music,” she says.

That plan never materialized and eventually she became discouraged and missed working with her hands, especially since she had done a lot of stage carpentry at Ryerson and had a passion for woodworking.

A little more than a year ago she quit and was “doing a lot of soul searching” about what to do with her life when she had a chance encounter with Stone Angels Masonry owner Leigh Bamford, who she knew on casual basis.

“Leigh said ‘why don’t you come and work for me until you decide what you can do.’ The very next day I was on the job and it all started from there. I did not expect to fall in love with masonry, but the more I laboured the more questions I asked and found myself in an unofficial apprenticeship.”

Since that first day she has acquired many of techniques of the trade and occasionally manages crews on her own when Bamford is picking up supplies or managing other projects. But it has been a learning curve.

Using power tools is not always an option or gives the desired effect. The true craft is doing things the old way

— Alicia Porter

Stone Angels Masonry

As Stone Angels Masonry specializes in historic restoration and ‘creative’ modern construction, each project is different and on each one she gains new skills.

Besides learning how to preserve and lay brick, match mortar by creating the proper mix and sometimes using pigmentation, Porter says she also has learned to create structurally sound drystone walls and has mastered the art of installing stones for window wells and doorways by hand.

“Using power tools is not always an option or gives the desired effect. The true craft is doing things the old way,” she states.

Despite her carpentry experience, work with stone and brick is a very different experience. Even hammers and chisels are used much differently in masonry, she explains.

Although she may eventually enter a formal apprenticeship program, for now she is content with her on-the-job training.

“I am currently learning on the job in an environment where I am not lost in a crew. We are a small company and I have the opportunity to work beside my boss and mentor all day, every day.”

Asked what skills and attributes a person needs to be a successful mason, she cites a whole list including proficiency in measuring, reading and understanding architectural drawings, being comfortable with working at heights, and good hand and eye co-ordination. There is definitely an artistic nature to any project and having an artistic eye for patterns, shapes and colours also helps.

“It is also a very physical line of work so staying healthy and active is very important,” says Porter, who has injured her back four times, broken her wrists, and suffered any number of cuts, scrapes and bruises.

“The cuts, scapes and bruises will never go away when working with stone,” she says.

Those mishaps are offset by the rewards, chief of which is: “leaving a project knowing we have improved and restored life to the architecture or groundscapes of a property that will continue to serve a purpose for generations to come.”

Porter is following in the footsteps of, and draws inspiration from, her grandfather Malcolm Danks, a former Canadian Home Builders’ Association director and the 1958 Hamilton-Halton Home Builders’ Association (HHHBA) president.

Owner of Stoney Creek-based Malcolm Construction Limited, Danks was awarded the first honorary life membership in the HHHBA in 1978 and in 1990 was inducted into the Hamilton Home Builders’ Association Hall of Fame for outstanding and long lasting contribution to the association.

“He suffered a stroke which affected his speech and mobility, so it was hard for me to always understand him. But I knew the man he was and he was someone to look up to. He taught me honesty, integrity, hard work ethic and moral decency. He passed at 96 years old when I was 17. I was fortunate to have had his influence in my life,” she says.