Shaping Stone: The Art of Carving Soapstone

5 star reviews: One of the Only Decent Books on Soapstone Sculpture! – This book is truly one of the only books I have found on carving and sculpting soapstone that is of any use to me. – Treborian Reld For the beginner or advanced artist (for those who have never yet selected or cut stone, to the seasoned hard-stone artist looking to take on soft-stone). If you want the A-to-Z of stone sculpting BASICS — this is the book for you. – Tesseract in Blue Jeans This far and away the best and most informative work on the art and practice of soapstone sculpture – GRO A step by step guide to the techniques, tricks and tips on how to carve soapstone. Includes sections on how to select stone, what tools are required and recommended, how to use the tools, safety guidelines, how to finish and display soapstone carvings. Each step is clearly explained via both text and photographs. Included in the book are links to on-line videos of the various techniques and stages. I’m a firm believer that a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’ve chosen to show, and only talked enough to lead you into what the picture depicts. I’ve also chosen the size of the book so I can fit in lots of pictures, while keeping the pictures big enough that you can see the detail shown without needing a magnifying glass. At several points through-out the book, I point you to on-line videos so you can see the process in motion. Lastly, I’ve focused on giving you an overall introduction to soapstone carving, in order to keep the price of the book down so it’s affordable. I’ve deliberately left the more advanced and exotic techniques for a later book, so you don’t have to spend a great deal to begin this, your first journey into soapstone carving. Learn how to carve Soapstone, using a few basic tools and this easy to follow guide. You don’t have to be an expert to follow the steps in this book. You don’t have to have any experience in carving, you simply need to have an interest, and a desire to create something. I will guide you through the process in eight easy-to-follow steps. You only need a few tools, though I show you other tools that can be useful. You can choose how much to invest and how many tools to buy. The basic tools can be purchased for twenty to forty dollars. The stone is reasonably easy to acquire and relatively inexpensive, usually no more than two to three dollars per pound, often less. Most rock shops carry an inventory of stones ranging from five pounds and up. If there’s no rock shop in your town, stone can be ordered on-line via the Internet. Safety concerns are covered in the book, but soapstone is a very safe material to work with. Sound interesting? Well, if you haven’t already done so, buy the book. Pick up a few tools if you don’t already have them at home. Go buy a chunk of soapstone, follow along with the book and let’s start carving.

Features

• Used Book in Good Condition