SURPRISED - PHASE 1

November 10, 1998

Wow, this is fun - and really dusty!

I started the process by cleaning up the rock with an angle grinder, equipped with a masonary cut-off wheel. I figured on the dust (choking on it when the wind blew my way at the Great Northern Arts Festival), but I had no idea how much dust was really produced when carving soapstone. The wind, this time, was blowing my neighbour's way and, to my chagrin, created a blizzard of dust which blanketed his yard like a pre-mature snowfall.

Thus ended my outdoor carving career. (I wonder if soapstone dust encourages a healthy lawn and garden?)

I moved into our greenhouse, after tarping over the plant beds, and have been carving happily ever since. The outside temperature has been 5-10 below Celcius (and a little windy), so the extra warmth of the sun through the greenhouse, and the shelter it affords, has made the carving more pleasant.

So far, I have used the angle grinder for the major shaping and reduction, a drill with a large masonary bit to rough out the inner negative spaces, the Foredom H series for more refined shaping (using double fluted burrs), and a collection of rasps and files for the detailed contours and final shaping.

Yet to do: reduce the size of the shoulders and back, finish the legs and feet and refine the head. Following this will come the sanding and polishing.

I have decided to show two stages only for this work in progress, this one and the finished one. The rock has been too heavy to move until now, and its location in the greenhouse was not conducive to a photograph. (A bit like trying to photograph a polar bear in a snowstorm!) I have included all four angle shots below and used the upper row of thumbnails for the same views, with all the links returning to this page. Next time I'll do the same for the finished work, using the lower four thumbnails and referring to one page of text. I hope this is not too confusing!

Till next time, Shane

Copyright © 1997 - 2005Shane Wilson