There are many types of stone to carve
but, as with the disciplines of ceramics and modeling,
there are primary carving stones that are the favorites
of carvers, instructors and students.
Most stone carver's agree that a pure
even stone is best for carving. The
reason is simple. With a pure even-colored stone the
carving will not be dictated by any color or veining. If
one were carving a face in an exotic multi-colored
stone, however, veins would most likely appear
diagonally, horizontally, or even in a circular
configuration across the face, ruining the effect and
the piece. Since there is
little or no veining in a pure stone, this will not
occur, and the piece will flow naturally.
The primary carving stones are
Italian alabaster, either translucent
white (where light will pass through the stone)
or opaque white (where light will not penetrate
the stone), and
soapstone (talc block)
which will be mostly light and dark green in color.
Other common stones used in carving are marble,
sandstone, limestone, tiger eye, wonder stone, and
granite.
Stone is usually classified into four
groups each defined by its hardness or carvability.
Soapstone is the softest. There are
soapstones from Taiwan,
Canada, India,
Kenya, and the southern U.S.
All of these are not
readily available and may be somewhat harder than the
material commonly referred to as soapstone and therefore
not suitable for beginners.
Alabaster is the
second hardest and is considered a medium hard stone as
are sandstone and limestone which are abrasive stones.
It comes in many colors: Occhio di Tigre
and Occhio di Tigre Rosso, Bruno Carmello, Italian Brown
Agate, Oyster Shell, Red Vein, White on White,
Raspberry, Root Beer, Orange, Creamsicle, and Tropical,
to name a few. However, the favorites of sculptors everywhere are the translucent
and opaque white alabaster. I would suggest the green
soapstone and white alabasters as carving stones for
beginners.
Marble is the third hardest
stone, the hardness varying with the geographic locale
from which it is mined. Vermont marble is very hard;
Italian marble (the highest grade known as Carrara
marble) has a standard medium hardness as does Colorado
marble. Carrara marble is favored by professionals; the
number one pure white is by far the best. Also known as
statuario, this last stone was used by Michelangelo. Other
marbles include Statuario Puro, Bianco Pi, Statuario
Venato, Bardigilo, Belgium Black, Portuguese Rose,
Vermont White, Tennessee Pink, Colorado Yule, California
Crystal, Chinese Black, Alabama White, and Danby White.
They range from soft to extremely hard.
Granite is the fourth hardest
carving stone. This is recommended for only the most
advanced sculptors having a lot of time to spend on the
piece.Visit our
online
stone carving store
to view our carving stones -
alabaster and soapstone as well as stone carving tools
and kits.
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