getting the most from your stone

["Robin Putnam" <icarvestone@zzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hi all,

With the alabaster I have ....the chunks are of very odd shapes, some
rectangle, some square and most are triangles...why, I don't know.  The
triangles are the most challenging to use !  Ranging from 85-125 lbs.  Some
are very hard and some are very soft and some are both ! .  A lot of them
need to have the scummy stuff on the outside removed...sometimes an inch all
around.

THEN... .... I have a maquette and she measures 12" high and 3" thick...to
"find her" in a piece of stone ( all are at least 8" thick and most are much
thicker ) it's obvious a lot of stone needs to be removed......is that a bad
thing ?  Do I put her on a shelf and wait until a skinny stone ( in the
color I want) comes along ?  I would  love to have her be a lot larger but
the tallest point  on the raw stone only allowed me to go to 12" high (
leaving an inch or two for a base)  .....Do I start making blocky figures
to use most of the stone, toss proportion to the wind.....just remove around
the edges and call it done.......how about my giraffe.... a simple but large
giraffe head instead of the whole critter......should I compromise.... what
I want a piece to be vs what some would consider to be a 'better' use of the
stone......arg....

One piece started out as a limestone rectangle measuring 25x12x6 and when
the torso, Astre', was complete she still measured, at the tallest, widest
and thickest points 25x12x6.  I do believe using a cut shape, flat sides all
around, allows you to be less 'wasteful'.....but we don't always have that
luxury.....

What say you......

~Robin
no-stoneunturned
pics @ http://public.fotki.com/Robinlea/
new added 2.24.05