Carving Procedure | Tools | Carving Preparation
The procedure of carving
- The artist will first start with the chasing hammer or adze and chisel, hewing out the rough form.
- For more detail the artist will go over it again and again with the finer chisels.
- (Necessary for hard stone only) The sculptor now uses a rasp and file to further smooth and shape the sculpture. The stone does not show itīs natural colours at this point.
- The next stage is to smooth the surface, this is achieved by using coarse to very fine grades of wet/dry water paper (sand paper). The colour and character of the stone is now becoming visible. The sculptor would have used up to 1200 or 1500 grit wet/dry water paper before deciding to apply any wax.
- The sculpture is now ready to receive the wax. The sculpture is placed close to a fire or artificial heating medium. During this process the sculpture must be turned many times so that it is heated evenly if not there is a possibility the sculpture may crack. Once it reaches the required temperature multiple layers of clear wax or beeswax can be applied.
- When cold the sculpture is buffed to remove any excess wax.
The natural colour, rich textures and grain of the stone are now visible. Once the sculpture is polished and buffed it has an amazingly beautiful glazed finish.
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