Getting complicated . . .

I realized while working on the stone today that I seem to be letting this stone have its way on nearly everything. That is, everything that is presented is allowed to find form. This way of working presents an interesting opportunity: I can simplify the form by removing the pieces that are not essential to the concept or that are simply awkward. Looking at the photos, you can see that the piece does need fewer shapes and as soon as the sides are all complete, that will happen.

2nd day - resolving the center

Work on the stone today was aimed at resolving the center - the mass between the two groups of rectangular solids on the sides. When doing this kind of work, my goal is to make coherent transitions. I don't like to look at a finished stone sculpture and see a form on one side that disappears into the work and is not resolved on the other side. So, since this middle part went pretty well today, I'm left with only one side of the boulder to articulate properly before the refinement process can begin. Today's photo shows this center part, but it may not yet be clear just what is happening there.

First piece of new stone -

Well, today I managed to get a good start (nearly 4 hours) on the first of the new stones. A concept for this piece kind of appeared during a meditative period this morning, so I was quite anxious to get started so I could see it, um, "carved in stone" . . . sorry . . .
I'm guessing the weight of the raw boulder at 70 or 80 lbs., but it's already a bit lighter than that. The idea is fairly simple - three series of long rectangular solids intersecting at angles, with a few interruptions to this theme for the sake of surprise. It's hard to see while the stone is dusty, but it is a nicely stratified rose and white boulder and the strata will add another angular element when finished.

Been away . . .

I had intended to finish the above stone before our trip out west, but that did not happen. We were gone for two weeks and visited Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, then Colorado again on the way home to pick up 678 lbs. of alabaster boulders in Ft. Collins at "Colorado Alabaster Supply". The owner, Stan Jones was very helpful despite our arrival about 16 hours ahead of schedule - thanks Stan! Upon our return, I unloaded the stone and then finished the piece I'm calling "Rampart". Now I need to get going on the 14 new boulders in my studio.

Further refinements

Today I solved the problem that has been the biggest source of inconsistency in this piece. I simplified the former stair-step area and straightened it out into a ramp-like form that I like much better. Compare it to the photo below and you'll see the difference.

Simplify – Simplify

This has been a day of some fairly significant change to the piece. It was starting to look a bit cartoony to me and I have known for a while that either the small piercing or the upside down stairs had to go. Well, they both fell to the chisel today, and I think the piece is improved because of that. The last part that is still in its conceptual infancy - the side shown here on the right - is the next thing I'll be tackling.

Forging ahead -

As can be seen in the photo above, I decided to go ahead and complete the rest of the ridges in the manner of the top one. At this point, the plan is to briefly echo that look on the adjacent side, but only about half way up from the bottom, with the stepped character gradually disappearing toward the right side. As you can see from the circular pencil line, I'm planning to make the square piercing near the top into a cylindrical hole to echo the piercing on the adjacent side.