Sunday, November 29, 2009

More refinement of side #2


Worked today on more subtle refinement of the shapes on side #2. Sometimes a few of the forms have to be taken to an advanced state in order to see the relationships clearly, and that's what occurred today. Now that I know mostly what's going to happen on this side, I can turn the piece around next session and do the same for side #4. After that, I'll similarly refine sides #1 and #2, and then it's on to the fine work that will delineate the final forms before finishing starts. I'm not planning a high finish on this piece, but rather one similar to what's called a "buttery mat" glaze in ceramics.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Day 12 progress


As I work on this stone, I keep wondering where I'd be in the process now if I hadn't been using power tools from the outset. As I said in an earlier post, this is the first time using those in many years. For a long time, I used simply a hammer and chisels for all of the processes up to the finishing stage. This slow pace fit very well with my intuitive and contemplative process at the time, but as I started to conceive pieces in a more pre-planned way, the old tools began to seem a bit of an indulgence – though I really loved working that way, they had to have help. This piece, starting out at around 220 lbs. was clearly going to require something beyond hammer, chisel, muscles and tendons. The upside of this is speed and less stress on my body, while the downside is the feeling of distance from my work that is created by gloves, ear and eye protection.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Main forms emerging



Big progress today, including the piercing – always kind of a thrill. Got in about 2-1/2 hrs. of carving time and I noticed that I'm more tired than I would typically by after that length of time carving with a conventional hammer and chisel. It takes more effort to use the pneumatic hammer, but the progress is so much faster that it ends up being a significant plus.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Glad to be inside


Well, I'm happily carving inside now and the pneumatic hammer is allowing brisk progress on the marble piece, tentatively titled "Falling Rock #2". Not much more to say about the process at this point, so I'll just post progress photos for a while. I should mention, however, that I've equipped my indoor studio with cross ventilation that takes the dust away through a series of filters. That way, I don't have to wear a mask, just eye and ear protection. The first of the filters, a simple furnace filter, is just visible at the far right of the shot above.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

First session inside



Well, I'm carving inside now and ironically, the weather has taken an exceptionally nice turn - 74˚ and sunny today. We've had about a week of this now, and it seems as though we'll get another one. Anyway, the airline into my indoor studio is a nice addition and the pneumatic hammer performs flawlessly, allowing me to continue in an efficient way. As for the outside studio, I've changed my mind about building a shed for the rock saw. I'll just keep it covered with a tarp when it's not in use. After a session of using it, I'll just hose down the area. As the photo shows, I've now got a work surface to the left of the saw, and that'll allow me to have support for large stones that I intend to cut.