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Seeker of the Stone's Soul: Becoming an Artist - Jan/Feb 2003

The two men sat together, friends now for just a year and a half. One was a retired scholar, the other a retired soldier. Both were knee-deep into stone sculpting. They had met to continue their ongoing discussion of “What Makes an Artist.”

They enjoyed their brew as they mulled over the question at a local coffee house, both reaching for the coveted title of “Artist.”

Remember wondering what makes an “Artist”? You survived childhood, school, and maybe your first career, and still wondered. What makes an artist? Focus now on definitions from two directions, self and society.

The self definitions are subdivided into at least three relationships: our position/career, our significant other, and our contacts/peers. The social definitions are subdivided into our individual paths, other artists, and our relationships with gallery owners. What pathway have you chosen or will you choose, as you become an artist?

Bridging the Worlds - May/June 2003

Editor: This is the first in a two part essay. The July/August Sculpture Northwest will have the second part.

Last fall, I came to Germany as a facilitator of a Jewish-German reconciliation project. I never imagined then that I would fall in love with one of the German participants, and would soon return to Berlin to live and work until she could move to the States. Now I am learning to bridge our different worlds. How will I sculpt while I am in Germany and what will I do with the sculptures once I am done with them? I grew up in a Jewish home in the dark shadow of the Holocaust. Seeing images of the concentration camps and hearing my father’s tales of the war gave me a deep desire for peace. So, when invited to co-facilitate this reconciliation project, I recognized a great opportunity to learn about the Germans. But I would have to find a creative way to make a difference just as I had earlier hoped to do when I was first drawn to sculpting stone. Like direct carving, this would be a direct experience in which I would have to begin the work to learn what would emerge.

Tool Column - Flush Cut -Mar/Apr 2002

Whether you’re slicing away hard stone or minimizing impact during the reductive process, a diamond blade is the edge of power. Coupled to an air or electric angle grinder, it quickly becomes an ally searching for the stone spirit. A turbo blade locked between the standard disc flanges works well for a straight on approach like slice and dice or fret cuts. The blade sings a sweet song until the outer flange nut hits a parallel plane and . . and . .now what? Flush Cut!

Flush cut blades are drilled for screw mounting on special hubs or flange adapters machined from brass or steel. Both materials have their proponents. The hub has standard 5/8 – 11 threads for attaching directly to the angle grinder. Each manufacturer has a distinct bolt pattern and requires a matching diamond blade. Larger blades require larger hubs with more bolts to handle the stress. Be sure to use threadlock on the screws and torque them down properly. Loose screws will cause vibration, make the blade out of round and generally be a hazard to the sculptor and the surroundings.

The Tool Column - Oil That Hammer - July/Aug 2003

My first “power tool” for sculpting was an angle grinder fitted up with a masonry grinding disc. It seemed an amazing step from the serenity of hand tools to the dust and noise of machinery, and yet the allure of power had touched me.

At a Camp Brotherhood Symposium workshop, I learned about fret cutting and bought a turbo diamond blade that still seems so indispensable for roughing out forms. I also watched the figurative carvers dance their carbide chisels in and out of tight spaces on voluptuous marble forms.

In another arena, granite gods and goddesses with bushing tools were contouring, texturing and anointing salt and pepper obelisks and spires. Maybe it was the beauty of the sculpture, or perhaps the romantic notion of historic production (air hammers have been around for over a century) that coaxed me over to the demo booth. I nervously plugged a pneumatic hammer into the air hose and attacked a piece of white marble with a 3/4 inch, 3 tooth chisel. Plug in your earplugs, suck the straps down on the goggles and snap some new filters into the respirator; I am hooked! Of course I bought one - a big one. And yes, quite a few chisels too.