Large Pieces

Due to the availability of marble where I studied,  I was able and eager to make some larger pieces.  One of the things you quickly discover is if you don’t learn how to safely move and make large stones stable, your art career will be brief.  Coming from a drawing and painting background, this was initially discouraging as I was accustomed to creating whatever ideas that came into my head.   This is possible with stone, but they may fall over and crush you.  Physics and engineering had to be considered within the overall aesthetic.  I began to realize though that viable stone elements could become interesting beyond their structural purpose.  Most of the larger stones we had access to were thick slabs and great for construction pieces, but less so for carving.  After completing my degree,  I went to Pietrasanta Italy, where all types and sizes of blocks are available.   This allowed me to work on a larger scale by carving from a single block instead of constructing from multiple.  There are advantages to using multiple stones to build a larger piece, but I currently enjoy working from a single stone.  I did however learn about developing the space in and around the sculpture from working with multiple stones.

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