Newest Rock Art

I found a nice, almost rectangular chunk the other day that I could "walk" up and into to the trunk of the car. 

I found out later it weighs 130 lbs.  I like the shape, as it's relatively tall compared to the rounder boulders in the pile.

Doesn't look like much now, huh?

Actually, the rock is pretty cool looking. 

So for this one the goal is going to be to carve something simple that accentuates the stone, not something that requires great detail.

I think I'm going for something humanoid -- perhaps a hooded, robed figure - because, the rock pattern is going to be the highlighted feature of the piece.

The rock wil decide -- one fracture or hidden fissure can change the best laid plans. (That's how you end up making an abstract piece.)

So I started to draw on some rough guidelines and measure, which I rarely do, but I'm going to try and be more disciplined this time around.

It doesn't have to be in true proportions -- this isn't going to be one of my realist looking pieces. Alabaster doesn't hold detail well anyway. If I was going for realism and detail, I'd grad a piece of marble or limestone.

So It's ok if it ends up on the "phantom / ghostly spirit "end of things. I think the rippled robe will will look cool if I can get the draped fabric curtainy look -- I've never tried it. 

Maybe I'll make a model from clay to help me once I have the basic shape. This next step will take some time and depends on the weather.

Dave - thanks and good luck on your online sales. I was successfully selling off some of my hologram collection on ebay - but biz nosedived this year.

I like the suggestion someone made about using the ebay international shipping system. I can see where that would be advantageous. Customs-related issues can be a hassle to resolve.

Alabaster can come in many colors... these pieces are white, brown, green, red, and pink. Streaks of yellow even.

Some comes from Colorado. Some comes form Utah.

Just to show the color range. these hearts are all made from alabaster in that pile pictured above.

bacon... damn why didn't I think of that? Great idea. If I had some yellowish stone I could have done bacon and eggs. I have brown, so I could have done a giant stone Egg Mc Muffin. (That's actually the kinda unusual stuff I prefer to do).

However, since I do not have a large circular saw to slice it, it would have to be a thick slice of Canadian bacon.

If the stone cracks, we may do some hams.

Peak - that's a real nice collection and I see some of the orange in the background, too. Thankfully, the raspberry seems a little firmer, as the orange I have is a little soft and sugary. Since it is so soft, I mainly use it in the classroom.

I just randomly ran across some green (alabaster) with some yellow and red streaks in my "winter" piece -- I'll take some pictures so we don't bore the Zoners.

I generally prefer working with the harder stuff, as I don't do many abstracts, but recently I've had real good experiences with the medium hard Brazilian soapstone. Lemme find the hard drive.

My problem now is, during lockdown all the nearby neighbors are home -- and I feel bad running the power tools in suburbia. But I'm going to do a short trial run today since the sun's out, and see if I piss anyone off.

Here's some of that Brazilian soapstone I found in upstate NY of all places, when traveling back from Vermont with a load of marble. I bought it on a whim.

It didn't look all that intriguing except for hints of blue / gray in that piece on the right. That's the piece I started with.

A pleasant surprise. A lot of aquas, and copper/bronze tones.

In this piece,"Crying Goddess," her  tear didn't become apparent until sanding.

I'm always reluctant to carve a hole in a piece, but I took a shot. I also wanted to keep some "rawness" evident, which I usually don't do when working with marble.

The piece of Brazilian soapstone (above on the left side of the cart) revealed some cayenne. The pics don't really do the colors justice as it's very "tiger-eye-ish" in real life.

Inspired by the creatures in Where the Wild Things Are:

The piece in the middle turned out to be more green and copper-ish. I really like these color tones and wish I had more of it.

Because it has three intersecting holes, it is titled  "Forgotten Space."

ok - back to the alabaster... Today I want to figure out how to carve a hood without gouging out the face.

Thanks Lumber Truck -- I'm seldom satisfied with a piece and usually stop too early because I'm afraid something is going to break at any second. Sculptor's paranoia. Then it sits around  for months just fine and I question why I stopped and want to revise it. / improve it. But that's generally unwise. So I think, I'll do it better the second time with a new piece, but that never happens because the rock is always different.

So you just gotta live with it. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings...

Thank you Mice. The neighbor just showed up in her backyard so i'm taking a lunch break.

Mike -  I wanna bask in the sun like that lizard. Mid Atlantic has been very rainy and they are talking upcoming nights down in the thirties. Not good, as all the leaves are out and the garden is sprouting.

Peak - This raspberry alabaster piece I'm working on is rather waxy, as opposed to the more crystaline white alabaster or the more powdery orange that I'm used to. I started with a sander (drill attachment) this morning to take off the top coat and will try hand chiseling this afternoon. Seeing how easily it bruises* will determine how I'm going to proceed.

* in case you've never tried it (not you, Peak): Every time you chisel a rock it creates a pattern of little micro fractures under the surface. These unsightly spots are not very apparent until you start finishing the stone -- and it can drive a stone guy crazy trying to file and sand them all out. Sometimes the more you sand "down", the more you uncover.

Ok. I've roughed it out so I can see the major lines -- leading me to believe the idea of a robed figure might work.

And I cleaned up all the crap on the surface -- the gypsum develops a crust when exposed to wet for long periods (like over the winter in a stone yard).

It looks much better wet - and this is how the color and patterns will eventually sorta look when sanded and polished - the wax polish holds the "wet look."

The back side is showing some potential re the colors and patterns.

That ws a good 4-5 hours of work totay. I'm tired.

The weather finally just got warm enough to work outside... so yesterday I started carving the primary features to make it more humanoid.

Today I figured out how to configure the arms. Which was a challenge, since I'm basically working with a "thin" blocky rectangle and won't ever get real proportions.

I don't want it to look like a Lego-man so I have to round things off without losing too much material.

I also took off a couple layers of alabaster all over so I could more easily visualize the basic shape I'm going for on the front and sides,

I'm seeing a psychedelic garden gnome at the moment.

I'm thinking it still weighs 120 lbs 

<Ever tried to carve a Moa, ala Rapa Nui?>

No but it's on the list as the kids in class always want to.

(I've never found the right stone for a Dead-related image, but that's on the list, too.)

I do do "primitive" imagery. This is a favorite of mine.

Local soapstone from an abandoned quarry. In Civil War days they used the soapstone from this quarry to make bathtubs and fire place inserts, as soapstone holds heat.

Peak - re the Alabaster --  the outside crud was waxy, but the inside is hard and almost brittle. It's been stored outside for years under a tarp and East Coast winters aren't optimum. I've been saving it for a while due to the color.

Unfortunately I'm hearing it ring a little when I hit the lower body .. almost like it has a hollow spot (it doesn't) but I can't spot a fracture. So I'm just going to keep on going and hope for the best. I'll have to chisel less, and file more, to be safe.

In addition to sculpting stone, I also sculpt light.

That is, I occasionally make holograms. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate to be able to use the holography studio at Ohio State University's Physics Dept.

I liked the 'Chief" sculpture so much I used it as the subject for a compare-and-contrast art project: One sculpture is made of an earthly material -- solid rock -- using primitive technology (hammer and chisel). And one sculpture made of a heavenly material -- photons -- using advanced technology (lasers and optics).

I made two holograms of the 'Chief," one of each side, and mounted them back to back on a pedestal. So the viewer could walk around the high resolution 3D  image just as he/she could walk around the rock sculpture.

I also made some other holograms of the "Chief" that hang on the wall.

The weather of the past couple weeks ranged from frost to 80 degrees with lots of rain (April showers came in May this year) so it's been hard to work outside consistently.

But I'm making progress:

that's a 15 inch ruler so this thing will end up 30 inches tall by 10 inches wide by maybe 6 inches deep

getting the arms to hang reasonably right is the big challenge at the moment

I've got the basic shape:

the colors and patterns of the rock will make this piece, not so much the carving itself.

Still a lot of work to do.

adding a ruffled dress to remove some of the blocky-ness

there was a natural dent where one of the shoulders should have been, so it's gonna look a little skewed, but hey, its art....

the robe is turning into more of a hoodie -- maybe that will make the piece more "contemporary"

now the basic shape is done -- all detail work from here -- and a lot of sanding to do

Thanks Seamonster. Thanks Lumber -- this is actually a fast, kinda sloppy piece (because the rock, alabaster, is relatively soft -- for rock).

A more detailed marble piece can take months and months.

Betty in Her Bubble Bath:

and to anyone else I didn't thank by name, thank you, too. If you've taken the time to post, I certainly appreciate it, but sometimes I miss somebody in a Zoning cycle. Sorry.

(probably because I'm wasting time posting some irrelevant, irreverent silly crap waiting for the rain to stop...)

Hologram of  NFL 49er Jerry Rice (by my friends at Laser Reflections).

Oh, that Jerry. Believe me we tried. The guy that ended up as Jerry's personal assistant previously worked with me at Holos Gallery in San Francisco. Actually came close to pulling it off.

Finished all the carving and sanding the other day. These pics are before final polish.

I'm going to call the project a success, as the piece showcases the stone well enough and has enough form to be recognizable, yet still fluid.

"Bacon Monk" --- it doesn't have a name yet, so that could be it. Or "Patiently Waiting for Lettuce and Tomato"

Mike - It's all about the shadows with this one... it has quite the personality in real life (and doesn't look as stubby as it does in the photo angles). About 2 1/2 feet tall.

Hooded figures are all the rage nowadays......  first time I ever tried a recessed face...a learning experience.  I was prayin the hood didn't crack. Turns out the stone has lots of surface fractures.

With the alabaster, all the detail gets "polished" away, so it ends up vague. 

Also the stone is a little more orange in real life. The sun was glaring when I shot these pics.