NWSSA, Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens, Everett Parks, and the Schack Art Center are hosting a two-day Sculpture Walk. Last year, approximately 450 people came through to see the one-day show, which was nothing short of spectacular. This year, our event is hosted during the full weekend of “Fresh Paint”. SCHACK ART CENTER will be promoting […]
The tall block of Yule marble balances on the dunnage and stares back with white intensity. A nervous knot of anxiety rolls through the stomach. Point away the loose and irregular material. Anticipate the genius within. No arm reaches out to pull away the veil. This bedded block of stark white and precision frames what? There is […]
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 […]
It’s another typical drill job in the sculptor’s studio. Assemble a sculpture from three pieces of stone. Fix them together with 5/16 inch stainless pins, either sleeved for disassembly and transport, or epoxied for permanent placement and strength. Topmost is this black and red marble wing, scorched brittle by the SW desert heat. A carbide-tipped […]
Early summer saw a number of NWSSA members at a granite seminar organized by Hank Nelson and hosted by Judy and Kirk McLean. I ambitiously bring forth a 1200 lb piece of Fraser River salt and pepper. Envisioning the Rites of Spring joyously filling the ears and large fuzzy bumblebees tumbling around the cushy and aromatic centers […]
Hand tools, yeah! One arm swings the hammer; the other braces the point or claw. This drum beat sends us on a journey into the stone. It’s primitive, direct, a linking of human spirit to the earth itself. It’s that pulse and flow, that ancient meter that pushes deeper into the stone, producing a connective […]
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 […]
ed Note: Much has happened in the variable speed electric die grinder marketplace since this was written and there are many choices at features, searching for: variable speed electric die grinder will get you many results at a wide variety of price points and capabilities. Since his writting in 2004, the Foredom and other flex […]
If you are entering art competitions with your sculptures, and need to ship them to the exhibit or to customers, you need a sturdy, reusable crate. These foam lined crates will protect your precious sculptures. Remember that old Sampsonite commercial? Gorillas handle the freight. The following instructions will take a little of your time, but […]
This article emerges from a lunch time question and answer discussion about power tools with Steve Sandry posing the questions, and Jason Johnston, Tom Urban, and Brian Bennan expressing their opinions on power tool performance. For working in hard stone, and for doing certain detail work in any kind of stone, many of us have […]
Submitted to Sculpture NorthWest by a long-time NWSSA friend, Steve Erickson. All sculptors and landscapers need to move stone whether natural or worked. This can be a problem when too heavy to lift, too light for machinery, or due to constraints of the locale. Here’s a tool that Sabah Al-Dhaher finds useful, easy, manageable and […]
Learn about Dunite from one of our resident geologists, Michael E. Yeaman. During our summer Symposia at Pilgrim Firs, NWSSA member and geologist thought it might be helpful for us to understand the geology of the stones we carve. Click the link below to read his presentation or view his narrative on our YouTube Channel.
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