Thursday 2 May 2013

Working With Stone

For part of my work experience module in college, I got a place in Alpha Omega Stonework Studios in the small village of Glenbrien, Wexford.
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
I decided to sculpt a simple owl. I would use air hammers, normal hammer and chisel and sandpaper to help me make it. The air hammers which you see below are connected to an air compressor.  















I chose a cut off piece of marble to work from and you can see my WIP's below.



















I really enjoyed my time working with stone and its something I hope to continue in future.