getting onto serious sculpture

The engraving bench is handy, catches the slurry that flies everywhere. Dust is chaotic so I work outside.
Some sort of sandstone I found. Very hard. I’ve used the diamond saw to cut ridges then knocked them off. A diamond pad in the air angle grinder with some water running on it, got the base fairly flat. A brickies chisel that’s gone blunt quickly and some cold chisels. I need a good stone masons “point” chisel, and maybe a set actually.
I found a very good book, “contemporary stone carving” at the morwell library which I borrowed and ordered online.

A broken marble slab, that’s begging to be carved into a chinese style bi disc.(maybe pi, I’ll check)
I’m looking foreward to this, some diamond saw work, but mostly rasp, files, and gritpaper. I love the hands feeling the way.

HEAD ON A SPIKE . to end 2014.

This year I’ve been watching too much news coverage, I think. The conglomerate stone is all colours, all types, the everyman. The stand speaks for itself to anyone who wants to look. I’m hunting for some new barbed or especially razor wire, so that it doesn’t just speak of the past.

HEAD ON A SPIKE

Head on a spike. When I make the mounting. 19 cm high and that stuff is very hard to carve. I’ve got some sandstone from Trafalgar that looks like it has possibilities. Still hard, but a nice colour and finish after a bit of filing. Have to wait a bit before I can tackle it.

MORE GRAAL ON THE WAY

There’s more graal on the way folks. This is where I start from, Philip Stokes blows these “embryo” in the colours I order, then the slow work starts. Research if you are unsure of a proper graal definition.

BOAB TREE.

The boab or bottle tree. If I had put it in water first I would have seen how the fault line stood out, and adjusted. I enjoyed working 3d and with hand tools more than electric, though both were used here. Going to try sandstone and a marble benchtop next

Sanding the soapstone down didn’t take too long. 180, 360, & 600.

soapstone carving

Started on a soapstone carving. Block 15×15 cms. Really like the feel, and the degree of hardness is OK. Still enough control. Aiming for an expressionist look about it. Ernst Barlach did a lot I like that had the look/feel of the woodblock prints. The goal would be to include glass, but to have an image on that glass maybe taking it too far. Maybe just be content with the sculptural glass/stone mix and keep the image making for printmaking.