While there I learned a great many things, from identifying various stones, learning to use new tools and how to properly polish finished pieces.
At first I was using wax to make a simple maquette of a piece I would late sculpt from stone. I was then giving some alabaster stone, which is a very soft stone compared to the likes of marble. I could easily sculpt it using grinding stones, no hammers of chisels needed.
Alabaster and the grinding stones |
Once I had gotten the shape I wanted it, I then proceeded to polish it using sandpaper from the 80 to 2000 grade. Once finished, the stone had a milky glassy look to it.
Once I had finished my simple abstract piece, my boss Ciaran was making and donating a marble apple to a local gallery. I offered to polish it which took my almost 3 days.
Early in the sanding process |
Finished |
The following week, I was to be taught the technique of hand carving lettering using a hammer and chisels. I was given an old slab of stone which was took from a very old house. This slab was just meant for practice but I found that I liked the look of it. I carved the famous John Lennon phrase "All you need is love" and it took me 2 and a half days to finish.
After I had finished with the slab, I moved onto a more complicated sculpt. I chose to use Carrara Marble which comes from the famous quarries in Carrara, Italy.
Carrara Quarry |