Week Nine

Mikey cutting planes with an angle grinder

Another week of gritting our teeth and grinding away... We have to remove about two-thirds of the stone from these blocks before we will actually begin the moldings. Working with stone really exercises my patience and perseverance. The whole removal process is very slow and methodical, and can be overwhelming if looked at in its entirety. The key to keeping sanity is by going at the rock one step at a time and by focusing only on that stage. I can see now how this job isn't for everyone and I myself and am struggling to keep my spirits up..

I am currently working on cutting the shape down into a half-octagon of planes. These planes will then be cut again smaller and smaller until the edges can be rounded and a half circle is formed.

This is my stone. still in the first stages of the rounding process

Nick's stone has been rounded and chamfered on one edge.

Michael has finished the rounding as well and his stone has been turned upwards in its proper position. 

My work on my sculpture has been slow but steady. I had to stop for awhile to workout a design error but am back in business. Its tricky and careful carving, and I wonder if I bit off more than I can chew with an objects as intricate and as complex as a skull. Regardless I am working furiously and spending some late nights in the shop hoping to get it done on time.

Cutting the background out

Add caption

As far as I've got so far.