Close to the stone

[RichardEmmans <r_emmans@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Everybody,
wow, that really got a discussion going there.
Two years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Ronald
Rae, a Scottish stone carver. I like his work very
much, it's all hand carved granite in gigantic
proportions. Now, you could say there was a
traditionalist approach to sculpture in his work and
there is (I do most of my carving by hand as well, but
if I have to split a block or do the roughing out I
really enjoy my friend the angle grinder).
I do see an angle grinder or torches as tools very
much like chisels and hammers simply as extension to
your mind. However, Ronald pointed one thing out which
to me does make a very distinct difference and that is
time.
Power tools save you time but then again you haven't
got the time to think about your piece while carving
to the same extent you have when carving solely by
hand.
In my work I make decissions constantly while I am
carving and I have the feeling that the more time you
spend with a piece the clearer and more focussed your
decissions contribute to the work.
Stil doesn't mean I'd rather spend a day splitting the
block by hand!
Enjoy
Richard

Everything you'll ever need on one web page