Close to the stone

["Anthony Marbella" <a.j.m.stone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had to chime in with a response to this thread because
I feel that this has been one of the best discussions I
have read since I joined the group about 2 years ago. I
approach every stone differently, as I'm sure most of us
do. At first I sit and stare at a stone for a long time
looking for cues in either the dimensions and
characteristics of a cut block, or in shapes, gestures,
or personalities in odd, broken pieces of stone. I look
for these "cues" to suggest what the stone can best
become while carving as little as possible and
maintaining as much size/mass as the stone can
aesthetically collaborate with me. It is during this
thought process that I feel very close to the stone and
I haven't even begun to carve yet.  Once my idea or
direction comes or if I instead decide to carve
directly, I then proceed to involve whatever tools it
takes (that are at my disposal) to reveal my sculpture.
I usually rough out a form with a hammer and a point.
However, during this roughing! out process I will use a
4-1/2" diamond disk on my angle grinder to remove stock
that I can use for a new piece when the oppurtunity
arises. Throughout the rest of the carving processes I
will switch back and forth between air tools and hand
tools and back to the grinder again!

I never feel like I'm slipping away or losing my
"closeness" to the stone because I know when to step
back and just look at what I'm doing and collect my
thoughts on where to go next. During these pauses, I
look very closely at the stone and I feel very connected
to my piece, it's almost like the expression that I have
hewn into the stone is stronger than what I have gone
through to get there. In truth, I think it probably is
because when somebody looks at a stone sculpture, who
doesn't know what it took to create it, they only have
the image in front of them to form their ideas.

Thank You,
Anthony Marbella