C.V.SmithARTWORKS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Sculptures
    • Bronze
    • Clay / Apoxie Clay
    • Plaster
    • Wood
    • Stone
    • SLIDESHOW
  • Galleries
  • Contact
  • Book
  • River Arts
  • BRAF
  • Saltwater Artists
  • CMCA
  • Yarmouth Art Festival

Raw to Refined ... Vermont Black Champlain Marble

2/27/2013

0 Comments

 
       One of the things that I like about carving in stone is the final revelation of the stone's color once the form has been shaped and the desired surface quality has been achieved. 
Picture
...beginning to shape Black Champlain marble block
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
'Synthesis' ... 17 1/4 " h .... Vt. B.C. marble
     The piece of Vermont Black Champlain marble that I eventually made into the sculpture titled 'Synthesis', came from The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in Rutland, Vermont. The stone started out looking a bit like a battered piece of cinderblock. It was several shades of dirty dull grey and had a variety of chips and dings on its edges. Some of the surface scars and chips prompted me to envision and carve the large slanted cylinder at the top of the piece, with a tongue-like flowing shape emerging from the opening at the lower end of the cylinder. I then carved four curving tubes to connect different parts of the piece and create a visual flow around all four sides. Once I finished carving the form, I sanded the surface with descending grades of wet/dry sandpaper, from 200 grit down to 1000 grit. The color of the marble got darker and darker, and the light grey spots and striations became more pronounced, as I progressed to the higher grits of sandpaper. I sealed the piece with Saw-Sheen (from the Granite City Tool Company) which further brought out the color in the sculpture. The process makes you feel a bit like you are Henry Higgins in Pygmalion with an Eliza Doolittle made of marble.

*See additional stone sculptures made of soapstone, alabaster and marble in the Sculptue and Slideshow sections of this website.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Cynthia Smith, Maine artist, originally from Connecticut. Taught art at secondary level for 35 years, retired in 2004. Sculpts in bronze, wood, stone, clay & plaster. Her work can be seen at several mid-coast Maine galleries and shows.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    October 2022
    May 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.