and more detailing . . .

I've entered the second most tedious part of this process; all the main forms are defined, but they need lots of refinement. Of course, the most tedious part is the sanding! I should be ready for that process in a week or so, maybe less if I can make it happen. On Thursday, I'm due to receive a shipment of a stone I've not worked with before - translucent orange alabaster from Utah. I'll try to post a photo of a chunk when I have it in my clutches. Above is a pic of the status of both sides of the current stone as of yesterday. Remember to click the photo to enlarge it.

And now . . . side "B"

I decided that it was time to give the other side some love, even though it seems to work just fine for me to get one side of these Mandala pieces nearly finished before addressing the other. As you can see, several stepped forms are coming out of the stone - a recurring theme it seems. I'd guess that this stone is approaching three quarters done, which means I'll have to start to thinking about what kind of base it will need. This piece is quite a bit less massive than the previous two, and will therefore need something other than a big chunk of concrete as a base.

New mounting aspect?

I'm considering changing the mounting to the position as shown in the photo. It seems a bit less static and solves the problem of the L-shaped form sticking down too far in the former mounting scheme. I'd have had to make it less deep and I like it the way it is. Side A is about 80% complete now and I've started to bevel the edges of forms that are finished (a good moment!)

More work on side A

As the photo shows, I spent today reducing the level of the central part of the stone. An idea I have about the possibilities of doing this is to create some real transluscency by reducing the other side

in the same area, or perhaps just part of it. Also, I did some work on the profile of the piece and plan to do more to soften the jagged appearance and reassert its circular nature. One of those projections may have to go in order to achieve that.

Continuing . . .

More refinement and detail are evident on side A of this piece as of today. Right now, both sides

are very similar, but that's due to change dramatically over the next few sessions. That will be accomplished mostly through changing the depth of various parts of each surface.