3-D Challenges Stone Carving

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

When painting, the difficult part is often creating a believable figure from one vantagepoint. When working from life, this can be frustrating since even the best models inevitably move. However, when I carve stone, I do not use a model. I suspect the two major reasons would be obvious - the time involved and the dangerous flying chips.

Working in the round means that as I move around the figure, the view and the line must flow in a way that fits. Anatomy may be “wrong,” but if the artist is either lucky or clever (or both), the viewer will never think of these things and simply admire the work.

As I have mentioned before in my art newsletters and in the descriptions on individual works presented on my Web site, often the view most helpful to me as the creator of the work, is the one least likely to be seen by the viewer. That is, the view from above. In this first image, I am standing behind the “Gymnast” marble carving and looking down her rib cage to see the shape of her hips.
Not entirely happy, am I. You may see that the bum sticks out behind the figure on the left more than on the right in an unflattering way. Perhaps you may see the brown crayon mark denoting the separation of the gluts. I have drawn a pencil line to the left of this where I will carve off extra stone to remedy the form problems. I must be careful not to get too “efficient” because not all of the cheek needs to come off. It is only from that ONE vantagepoint -- that one edge -- that needs removal of material.


The next two images show different views of the same area. The first is a profile from the left and the form looks very different! Just a side note: in my markings to myself as a direct carver, the back and forth squiggles indicate places I will remove stone, while the circle is an area I wish to keep. I mark the latter sometimes because it means that I am getting close to the final surface, in relation to the areas surrounding it.


The last image is taken at eye level with the hips. Can you see that this viewpoint gives me a completely different batch of information (while lacking others)?

What a first day of summer in the North, eh?

Open Book Stone Carving

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Today was a glorious day! 84 degrees, partly sunny, a wee bit windy . . . my favorite kind of stone carving day! I like to stop work each day in my studio – whether indoor or out – leaving something unfinished. I have found that it is a way to stave off a creative block. Monday I left myself with the start of an idea, but not a full answer.

Today, I began to focus on the top portion of my marble sculpture. Those who either read this blog often or have taken a class from me might remember that I often feel that the most helpful information about the form will often be found by the view one is least likely to have, that is, the bird’s eye view.


Thus, I began today’s work by getting out my trusty stepladder and having a look. I decided to pull back the woman’s rib cage, emphasizing even more the arching gesture while pulling her into the male’s form a bit. Then I figured out how the lines I drew Monday on the stone might work and connect up with one another on an artwork in the round.

I love triangles, but I did not really love this idea. However, I did not have another at the moment. When this happens to me, I try to determine whether or not I can cut into the stone to explore the current idea without losing something that I later will want. For me, this is the challenge of direct carving. For collaboration with the stone to occur, sometimes I must remove material so that an idea emerges.


After I chiseled out the diamond in the neck, I stepped back to take a look. (See the second image.) I felt nothing. Well, not really, I actually decided that any upward hint of a neck actually detracted from the lines I have carved in the marble torsos. However, I still loved the “S” curve of the clavicle (collarbone). So, I decided to emphasize that line.

As I was chiseling away, my mind drifted to my friend and mentor Vasily (Fedorouk)’s work. Over the years that I have known him and studied his work, I began to notice that certain shapes or poses seem to reoccur in his sculpture. Like Leonardo da Vinci’s solo finger pointing up, I guess all artists have some gesture or line that has some personal meaning, however subliminal.

And then it occurred to me . . . I had carved this shape before on another torso in marble back in 2004! This particular "S" curve of the clavicle reminds me of an open book. And an open book could be interpreted as a type of vulnerability or perhaps accessibility. It is also a form of generosity. I will let the psychologists take it from there.


It felt great getting this resolved today, for I still am unsure of what I want to do with the base . . . There is a cold front expected tonight, so I stopped work long enough to get all the plants indoors and bring up some firewood to the house. The sun had set by the time I returned to the marble.

Of course I could see her whiteness in the dying light and I needed nothing more. I am close enough to the final shape that I use my fingers more than my eyes to feel and refine the form. I love running my fingers along the weaving landscape of muscles and my sense of touch gives me much more information now. I used the rough end of my carbide file to remove the tool marks of the day until it was almost pitch black outside. A good day’s work, to be sure.

Gratitude is best when expressed. So in the spirit of the American Thanksgiving, I just wanted to say thank you for your interest in my journey. I could not do it without you.