More sketching

I was able to get three hours of work done on this piece today before my hands said, "ENOUGH!". Since I've been comparing the work on this piece to sketching in stone, I continued at a rapid pace today, hardly stopping to think. When I did though, I spent the break examining the piece from different angles to be sure where a form would emerge on the other side so that I didn't carve off anything I'd need later. The concept is now clear to me and a couple more sessions should get me to the finishing stage.

What? Another new piece?

Yesterday, Lori and I had an open studio event, and around 35 people arrived over a 5 hour period to tour our respective studios. It was tiring but fun and inspiring as well, and in the course of the afternoon I was able to demo my old way of carving stone as well as the new, power-assisted method. Before the event, I moved my current piece to the indoor studio and used my crane to place a different piece of limestone on the carving bench. Today, I thought I'd just use my grinder to cut off enough stone to make it possible for me to lift it off the bench to get it out of the way. As I began to cut off pieces of stone I started to get interested in the emerging forms (I actually half expected this to happen), and after 2-1/2 hours of work with the grinder and pneumatic hammer I arrived at the stage you see above. I'm anxious to get back to it tomorrow because in this piece I have realized a goal that I have set recently: to blend my former intuitive way of working with the speed allowed by the power tools. Today's effort felt a lot like "sketching" in stone!

All forms are realized

I've got maybe one or two more hours of work that will occasionally involve the pneumatic hammer, then I'll be done with it. Comes a time when subtlety rather than power is needed. I'll get back to this piece on Monday, hoping to have reached that point. Then it'll be some hammer & chisel work, then rasps, files and sandpaper, in that order. This piece, "Solid Geometry #5" could be nearly finished by next weekend.

Intermediate stages

In the last two days of work, actually amounting to only 2-1/2hrs. of carving time, I've taken the piece into the middle phase. That is, all the major forms are now visible and I'll spend my time refining them and resolving plane and vertex issues. The photos also show a new refinement to the stoneworks: a port through the wall big enough for air and electrical lines that allows me to close the back door and keep the dust out of the garage. Well, most of it . . .

The fan is new too - a 24", three-speed pedestal fan for only $97.00! It allows me to work outside for extended periods of time (the stoneworks is on the south side of the property) at temperatures that would otherwise limit my working time to about 10 minutes per hour. With the fan on low, I hardly notice the heat. It helps, of course, that carving stone is rather absorbing.

Short session today . . .

Just an hour of carving today, but decent progress. I'm still consulting the sketches at this point, but less frequently. I feel like I've got a good mental image of the final piece and that makes for faster work.

Much progress today

Two postings in one day . . . and just hours apart. The photo above shows the stone as of this morning, and then again two hours later. First I covered the neighborhood with a layer of limestone dust using a cup grinder, then I went after the piece with the pneumatic hammer and a flat chisel. I'm thinking about three to four more hours should get the stone ready to start finishing. It has taken a mere 9 hours so far – in stark contrast with my last stone, a white marble piece that took 170 hours (including finishing processes).

Update on Solid Geometry #5

Well, I missed a few posts, even though I took pictures. The above photo is how the piece looks after yesterday's session. At some point, you just have to stop thinking and take a chance. I don't think I've removed anything critical to the concept – yet! Headed back out there now to enjoy working outside on an absolutely beautiful day.