Getting close to finishing stage

The photos above show some recent stages of the stone as it gets closer to the sanding phase. I did the large piercing by chiseling through from the bottom and I believe I'll leave the inside "wall" surfaces roughly chiseled. In a few days sanding can begin, and I'll have to start thinking of how to mount this unusual piece.

Decision time

In the photos above you can see that I've partially hollowed out the inside of this piece. My intention was to go clear through to create a very large piercing. After getting about half way through, it became difficult to get the proper angle on the chisel to effectively continue. Now, I have to decide whether to smooth off the bottom of the hollowed out part, or carve through from the other side. Stay tuned. . .

Moving on to the next stone

Last week I got the stone finished that I started in mid-June, and it's a good thing too, because I have to deliver it to Chicago in 2 weeks. A friend bought it
for his wife as a birthday present! I named it "Headstone for the Paleozoic" because the Colorado alabasters were formed during the Paleozoic Era, roughly 300 million years ago. Just for context, this was after the breakup of Pangea and what is now Africa was located in the area of the north pole. In addition, the end of that era saw the Permian/Triassic event, the largest mass extinction of life the Earth has ever experienced. Hence, the name.
Since then, I've started a new stone - one that builds on the main theme of "Headstone", but will be somewhat simpler due to the nature of the boulder. Both stones are shown in the photos above, which can be seen larger by clicking on them.