Shaping Stone: The Art of Carving Soapstone (Volume 1)

You don’t have to be an expert to follow the steps in this book. Almost without exception, people are impelled to touch the stone, to stroke it with their fingertips. A piece of art that sings. Unlike metal or ceramic, soapstone calls out to the viewer, asking to be touched. The stone is reasonably easy to acquire and relatively inexpensive, usually no more than two to three dollars per pound, often less. Having fallen in love with soapstone, and having carved for many years, I started giving introductory courses at the local collective which carries my artwork. Intro: Whenever I display my work, I watch the people as they inspect the sculpture. Historically, these peoples used soapstone for many things, including dishes, bowls, cooking utensils, and, the most recognized, for carving and sculpting. Today though, much of the world most commonly associates soapstone with the peoples of the North, once referred to as Eskimo, now more properly known as Inuit, Yupik and Aleut. I’ve also chosen the size of the book so I can fit in lots of pictures, while keeping the pictures big enough that you can see the detail shown without needing a magnifying glass. I’m a firm believer that a picture speaks a thousand words, s

The BASICS from Start to Finish Tesseract in Blue Jeans For the beginner or advanced artist (for those who have never yet selected or cut stone, to the seasoned hard-stone artist looking to take on soft-stone). If you want the A-to-Z of stone sculpting BASICS -- this is the book for you.The author writes a concise, practical, helpful, and entertaining narrative about stone sculpting with soapstone. Most of the information can be applied to other soft-stone sculpting techniques (e.g., alabaster). It covers all the BASICS from selecting tools and the stone -- to roughing, cutting, shaping, and then detailing the stone -- to sa. One of the Only Decent Books on Soapstone Sculpture! Treborian Reld This book is truly one of the only books I have found on carving and sculpting soapstone that is of any use to me. And while the book isn't the best quality as far as professionally editing and printing of books goes, it is THE BEST and one of the rare few on the subject of carving/sculpting soapstone! The author covers everything you'll need to know to carve/sculpt soapstone; from what to look for in the soapstone you'll use to what tools you'll need. It is the best on the subject, bar none! If you have an interest in carving soapstone, this it the book you want!. Remarkable! GRO This far and away the best and most informative work on the art and practice of soapstone sculpture that I have managed to find. I'm looking forward now to reading his second volume on more advanced techniques. Highly recommended!