Soapstone Sculpture

Soapstone Carving Primer Introduction to Carving Basics of Carving Sources of Soapstone Sources for Tools Quarrying Soapstone Repairing Soapstone Carve a Loon Carve a Polar Bear Carve an Eagle Sanding and Polishing

Inuit Art Beginnings 50 years of Inuit Art

Sandy Cline

His Biography Galleries & Carvings on hand Past Carvings Malvina Hoffman Ropey Atsiqtaq Showdates Past and Future Contact Page

This site is about Artists and the Arts in various forms and media. There is very comprehensive source of information on the carving of soapstone in the Sculpture Section with information on sources for obtaining Material and Tools.

The Soapstone sculpture pages are a meeting place for old and new sculptors who work in soapstone. A place where they can show their. work and exchange ideas.

If you are looking to repair a damaged soapstone sculpture, basic information is in Scratched, Bruised and Chipped.

The Showdates page, lists shows and events I plan on attending and photos of shows, demonstrations and schools that I have been at in the past, you can check if I will be in your area in the near future.

Carving for beginners and school children on the Simple Carvings page. There are instructions for making heart and arrowhead pendants, a simple mouse and a seal.

If you feel like making your own sculpture, you can; "Carve a small loon", "Carve an eagle" or "Carve a polar bear"

French language translations of carving pages are available. You now have "Sculpter un petit huard nageant", "Sculpter un aigle" and "Sculpter un ours

German translations of carving pages are "Wir schnitzen einen kleinen schwimmenden Eistaucher" and "Anfertigung eines Eisbaeren aus Speckstein"

I try to update the New Work pages with the carvings I have finished recently. You can view some of the latest sculptures and those still available to purchase at my Studio, Whetung Gallery and the Gallery of The Yates County Art Center

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Updated Updated September 9, 2005

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Properties of Soapstone

Soapstone, which is also known as steatite is a metamorphic rock having a talc base ("metamorphic" means changing from one type of stone to another through time and pressure). It occurs as a secondary mineral formed as a result of the alteration of olivine, pyroxene,and amphibole. The purest talc is used commercially to make talcum powder. Soapstone can be distinguished by its' ease of carving, soapy feel, and vibrant colour, which is obtained by the associated minerals leaching into the talc.

Because of its malleability, it has been used as a carving material for centuries. Egyptians carved figures and bowls of soapstone to be put into the tombs of pharaohs. Soapstone seals of Indian origin have been found in Bahrain and Ur. Paleoeskimos were mining the stone to make bowls and lamps on the Baie Verte Peninsula 1600 years ago. Native American Indians throughout North America carved soapstone into ornamental pipes and bowls.

Soapstone is available world wide, the colour of soapstone varying according to location and the proximity of various mineral deposits in the area. Soapstone contains talc and chlorite. The parent rock is peridotite, probably with more water associated with it than in the formation of serpentine. Many minerals mix readily with soapstone, creating the hues and markings that intrigue the observer of a sculpture. I work in the dark green and black soapstone of the eastern townships of Quebec, but the colours vary throughout the continent and the world. In China there is pale green and pink soapstone some of which I have seen and used; in Russia and Alaska there is black soapstone. Montana produces a dendritic soapstone having the look of moss growing through the stone. Pyrite crystals (fool's gold) can also be found within the stone showing as golden flecks. Dolomite is the mineral that determines the hardness of the soapstone that I work on. Some stone can be very easy to work and other pieces extremely hard.

I often am asked about asbestos in soapstone. This question I now liken to an urban legend. The question probably derives from the fact that steatite and asbestos are part of the same family of rocks and may often exist in the same area. If present in the stone, veins of asbestos would appear as fibrous and are quite identifiable.

According to a test conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor - OSHA , their report states that soapstone contains: 6mg/m3 TWA Inhalable (total) dust containing no asbestos and % crystalline silica. Odorless solid; 10% tremolite, 1% silica, crystalline. Main composition; Massive Talc; Steatite

If you are really concerned, reputable talc quarries can furnish an analysis of the soapstone indicating the presence of asbestos, if it is present in the stone.

I obtain my stone from Les Pierres Stéatites Inc. at St. Pierre de Broughton, Quebec. They mine their stone by cutting and using wedges to break the stone from the wall of the quarry. The stone is then taken to the mill and cut into appropriate sizes for carving. Here is a pictorial of the process.

If you have other questions, Email Me

The Old Broughton Soapstone Quarry

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

The Quarrying of Soapstone

Les Pierres Stéatites Inc is the only commercial talc mine I know that mine soapstone for sculpture.

I recently took these pictures showing the removal of the blocks of soapstone in the new quarry.

The stone is cut from the floor of the quarry , by drilling a line around the desired block of stone. The block will then be separated

along the grain of the stone.

Here you can see them removing the soapstone block by block.

One of these blocks will weigh about four tons.

Here are shown some of the tools that are used in separating the stone from the floor of the quarry. By cutting the stone from the floor by hand, the mine can supply quality, fracture free blocks of soapstone for carving

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

This website has been developed to help those interested in soapstone and the carving of soapstone into sculptures.

The Artist

Sandy Cline Biography Shows and Events Galleries & Carvings on Hand Past Carvings Awards Contact Page

Malvina Hoffman Ropey Atsiqtaq

Soapstone Sculpture

I am Sandy Cline, and I have been creating soapstone sculptures for over 40 years. When I was just starting to develop an interest in sculpture, I was fortunate enough to discovered a book on sculpture by Malvina Hoffman. Her writings and sculpture inspired me to pursue the life of a sculptor.

It was not many years after I started, that I was induced into teaching a workshop in soapstone carving at the Buffalo Museum of Natural Science. Since then, I have been passing my knowledge to students throughout Canada and the United States. My brother Daniel followed my footsteps and found a path of his own. He and his family now reside in Chemainus, British Columbia. In 1999, he was commisioned by the town of Chemainus to create this Outdoor Sculpture "Spirit of the Earth" that now stands across the street from the Chemainus Theatre..

In 2004, he was commisioned by the town of Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island to create this Qualicum Fountain sculpture that is now located in front of the municipal hall in Qualicum Beach, BC

Soapstone Introduction to Carving Basics of Carving Sources of Soapstone Sources for Tools Quarrying Soapstone Repairing Soapstone Carve a Heart Pendant Carve an Arrowhead Carve a Mouse Carve a Small Seal Carve a Loon Carve a Polar Bear Carve an Eagle Sanding and Polishing

Inuit Art Beginnings 50 years of Inuit Art

Links to Artist

Friends

Carvings from the

Past

I have worked with many students in those years, but the most pleasure I was accorded was the opportunity of working with Ropey Atsiqtaq, a blind Inuit from the Northwest Territories. For 17 years I have taught a summer course at the Haliburton School of the Arts. Here are links to the classes and students I have taught in 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. These links and the links on the left of the page show the work produced during a week long course. In 2006, the dates for my carving workshop will be July 3th - July 7th I am participating in Arts in the Wild, an Ontario tourism program. I will be participating in this program through Scotsman Point Resort. Here are the results from a 2004 class 2006 Weekend Workshops: Sat. May 27 and Sunday May 28, 2006 Sat. October 21 and Sunday October 22 , 2006 The Gallery of the Yates County Arts Center, 119 East Elm Street, Penn Yan, NY 14527 For Information 2006 Weekend Workshops: Saturday, April 8th and Sunday, April 9th Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24th In 2004 I began teaching at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia. Here are the results of classes; (Click on dates to see reults of classes) 2004, Five Day Workshops: April 26 - 30 and May 3 - 7

2005, Five Day Workshops: April 25 - 29 and May 2 - 6 In 2006 I will be teaching at William Holland for 3 weeks; April 17-24, April 24-28 and May 1-5 My Sculptures are presently sold through Whetung Gallery at Curve Lake, Ontario; Art Gallery of Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario; Mine Design of Clarence, New York; Shelden Studio of Grand Island, New York and the Gallery of The Yates County Art Center in Penn Yan, New York.

I try to regularly update the New Work pages with the new carvings I have finished recently. On these pages, you can view some of the latest sculptures and those still available to purchase at My Studio, Whetung Gallery, Art Gallery of Sudbury, Mine Design, Shelden Studio, Manitou Gallery and the Gallery of The Yates County Art Center . This is my show schedule; There you can find out where I will be showing and demonstrating in the future. I also post photos of the events I have already participated in. Regularly I will receive an email regarding possible dangers of working with soapstone. For your information, I have posted a email and my answer.

If you have any other questions, just Email me: sandy@sandycline.com

Sandy Cline Coon Lake Road, R.R. #4, Lakefield, Ontario K0L 2H0

This information has been gathered for those who have carved and those who wish to.

There are pages for beginners and school children showing how to make Simple Carvings. There you will find instructions for making heart and arrowhead pendants, a simple mouse and a seal. Then there are pages for making more Advanced Carvings.

Sculpter un petit huard nageant

Sculpter un ours polaire

Sculpter un aigle

Polissage de la pierre à savon

Wir schnitzen einen kleinen schwimmenden Eistaucher

Anfertigung eines Eisbaeren aus Speckstein

Polieren von Speckstein mit Wachs und Oel

Updated September 9, 2005

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings} {Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

I do not believe that it is possible to teach sculpture, it is something that has to be experienced. I am writing this as an aid to those who are seeking information. If you can find a sculptor (carver) that is willing to give you advice, it would be a great advantage.

You will probably get your stone as a rough boulder, if you have gone to a mine dump to get your material. It may have broken areas and cracked areas showing. These pieces should be filed down to the base stone that can be carved. Oft times I have seen people try to work with the original found stone without roughing it to a basic shape. The carving may be almost completed before a portion of the carving cracks off.

To insure the completion of the carving, it would be better to take off the damaged areas with a large wood rasp before you start carving.

Pieres des Steatites in Broughton, Quebec is the only mine I know that cuts the stone into a finished block.

I do not intend to tell the reader what they should carve. I believe that the idea has to come from the mind of the carver. It will be a great deal easier if the carver can visualize the finished idea in the rough stone. There are aspects of carving that I can not write down in words, this one of them.

When starting with a cut piece of stone, I first make a template of my idea and copy it to the stone. I do this because, I have found that after I finish the carving, I can use the template to make changes for the next carving. I never seem to be satisfied with a carving, as soon as I finish it, I find things that displease me.

Copy the template on to the stone. I try to enlarge the template to get the most efficient use of the stone. I have used a pantograph for many years to do this. Lately I have considered the use of the computer to enlarge my templates.

To remove large amounts on stone, use a saw. I have used every kind of saw from

a crosscut to a hacksaw depending on the size of the stone. One of the benefits of working in soapstone is that it absorbs heat. This allows the sculptor to use a bandsaw to cut the stone. The stone will absorb a large portion of the heat generated by friction. This keeps the steel of the saw teeth from burning. The

teeth of the saw blade will still wear.

I use a "skip tooth" saw blade. This blade has half the teeth of a regular blade. This allows more stone dust to be carried the depth of the stone while you are cutting it.

I make great use of a "Stanley", ("mini hack") hacksaw. This tool holds a hacksaw blade by one end, allowing the front of the hacksaw blade access to very confined areas, such as a drill hole. It is even more effective if you grind or break of the front end of the hacksaw blade. This will give you a cutting edge to the very front of the blade.

The saw is used to remove large chunks of stone in order reshape the block of stone in order to better help you visualize the final carving. Try to keep in mind the symmetry of the carving as you cut.

You may have areas that contain a lot of stone that you wish to remove in the middle of the piece. This can be done by a technique that I call "pointing". The masters of old would make a model of a sculpture that they intended to carve, this form could replicated in stone by drilling hundreds of holes into the marble. These holes will weaken the stone so it can be easily removed with the mallet and chisel.

For the bighorn sheep carving I needed to remove the stone between the front and back legs. The holes are drilled half the depth of the stone. I gauge this by marking

the drill with a marking pen to the depth I desire to drill. By keeping the holes close together, the stone should only break to the drilled line.

When using the chisel, limit the amount of stone you wish to remove at one time. There is a grain to the stone and you could split the stone in two if you are not careful. Remove the broken stone often to give you a better view of the area you are working in. Listen to the stone as you chisel, there will be a distinct difference in the sound of the mallet hitting the chisel when you are forcing the stone. Change the position of the chisel before the stone splits.

If you assume the rasp, file or knife is an extension of your arm, you will you find that you have a greater control to remove the stone quicker and more effectively. Hold the tool as if you were pointing it. The power should come from the upper arm and shoulder. Use the wrist only to position the tool.

Remember the rasp will cut the maximum amount of stone during the forward motion. You will also have more control of the cut if you concentrate on the stone you wish to remove.

As the stone is removed, the piece will began to take shape in your mind. Try to visualize the finished piece as you progress. This will give you a better idea of the form that you are attempting to create.

I usually will draw a centre or spine line on the carving to help me keep the symmetry of the carving as I work. Try to maintain a balance as you carve, it is very difficult to replicate the other side of the carving if you only carve one side at a time.

Simple Basic Tools

A simple carving can be made with the simplest of tools. By wrapping Duct tape around one end of a hacksaw blade, you can create a simple cutting tool for sawing your stone into a basic shape. A small round single cut rattail file can be used as a knife by holding the file at a 45° angle and pushing with the upper arm.

Remember; the Native Americans were able to carve intricate pipes and bowls out of soapstone using sharp pieces of flint and polishing with sand.

As I read what I have written so far, I realize that I have greatly condensed the information. More will be added and expanded as I find the time.

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

Some of the sources are commercial, but there are a great number of abandoned quarries and talc mines that may allow you to find your own stone. Carry a file or knife to test the potential hardness of the rock. I been given have a number of possible sources over the years, which I have included. As I receive further information on sources of soapstone, I will include them in this page.

Les Pierres Stéatites Inc. 770, rang 7 nord East-Broughton, Quebec, Canada, G0N 1H0 (418) 427-4519 Fax: (418)427-3697 info@pierres-steatites.com This is the major quarry for Quebec Green soapstone and they are committed to provide quality soapstone for carving.. There is no minimum order for shipping.

*********************** Shelden Studio 1741 Baseline Road Grand Island, NY 14072 Email:dcarder@adelphia.net They carry cut blocks of high quality green soapstone from Quebec.

*********************** Whetung Ojibwa Centre Curve Lake Indian Reserve Ontario, Canada, K0L 1R0 Tel: 705-657-3661 Fax: 705-657-3412 Email:mwhetung@nexicom.net

*********************** Friends in Stone 10990 Phal Road, Grass Lake, Michigan 49240 517-522-3396 Email john@friendsinstone.com We carry cut blocks of high quality green soapstone from Quebec and Pink Soapstone from Texas. We are locating other colours soon to come.

*********************** The Livingstone Quarry Roy Torney 52 Quabbin Road, P.O.Box 15, Mallorytown, ON, K0E 1R0 Phone:613-923-8840 email: roy@softstones.com Brazilian at present, with more varieties of carving stones to come in the near future

*********************** Sculpture Supply Canada 345 Munster Avenue, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 3C6 Phone: (416) 234-1075 Fax:(416) 234-1516 They have some very interesting Newfoundland Soapstone in light greens, blues and Browns

*********************** H.A. Ness & Co. Inc. P.O.Box 11, Stn 'U' Toronto, ON M8Z 5M4 Tel:(416)231-1645 Fax:(416)231-0231 Outside Toronto 1-800-668-6377 Email: glen.ness@soapstonecanada.com Distributes Quebec soapstone. Theye now carry Chinese pink and green soapstone and Brazilian in rough chunks. They do mail order and small quantities which is perfect for beginners.

*********************** Gian-Carlo - 11387 - 124th Street, Surrey, B.C. V3V 4V3 (604) 580-3264 Brazilian soapstone, high quality soapstone, available in odd shape pieces (greens & browns)

*********************** Wen Xie, Chinese Soapstone Email: info@chinesesoapstone.com Tel: (416) 873-8098 We are the importer and distributor of Chinese Soapstone, this sculptural quality stone is beautiful and partially translucent, available in dark green, pink / white, pale green and gray. I also have Spanish Alabaster in stock.

***********************

M. Teixeira International Inc. Soapstone Supplier, Brazilllian 465-B River Dr., Garfield, NJ 07026/ Phone: 973-478-1001 Fax: 973-478-8044 E-mail: info@soapstones.com

*********************** Chris Jenkins Email: jenkins.chris@shaw.ca Phone: 250-489-5141 Mail order soapstone (technically a steatite), fantastic colors, the stone is blue/black/green with cream colored veins, absolutely unique, see GRIZZLY Visit my webpage for details. Any sized pieces you like up to 55 pounds, $1.75 per pound.

*********************** Bedrock Supply Ltd. 9435-63 Ave. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6E 0G2 1-780-434-2040 TEL, 1-780-436-3294 FAX 1-800-661-3988 Toll Free We are one of Canada's leading suppliers of soapstone, alabaster, pipestone, pyrophyllite, etc, we carry a wide variety of stone, tools and supplies.

*********************** Mitch Wilson, RR#1, Enterprise, Ontario has a large amount of soapstone for sale. Colour ranges from green to brown to black. Some pieces have a unique schiller as part of the stone. All pieces are mined locally from Mitch's property. If you would like to purchase any stone, please call Mitch at 1-613-358-1201

*********************** Metamorphic Contact 5445 County Road #6 Enterprise, Ontario, Canada K0K 1Z0 1-613-379-2456 Suppliers of "Unique" Canadian Stone

*********************** Montoya Sculpture and Supply 502 Palm Street #21., West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 (561) 832-4401 Fax (561) 833-2722 Email:info@montoyasculpture.com

*********************** Stone Sculptors Supply Post Office Box 2124, Guerneville, CA 95446 Physical address: 2425 Pool Ridge Road, Guerneville, Ca Phone: 707-869-1021 Email: info@stonesculptorssupplies.com

*********************** American Hobby Shop Inc 3713 ain Street PO Box 64 Walworth, New York Phone:(315) 986-1171 Email: dave@americanhobbyshop.com

*********************** Oregon Soapstone Mine Steatite of Southern Oregon, Inc. Mr. John Pugh I 2891 Elk Lane Grants Pass, OR 97527 (541) 479-3646

*********************** Blackpearl Soapstone 1229 Harris St Suite 1 Charlottesville VA 22903 1 800-373-6352 434-979-7300 (voice) 434-979-6416 (fax)

*********************** Stoneman Distributors Unit #1 - 79 Bessemer Rd. London Ontario N6E 1P9 Phone: 519-668-3996 Fax: 519-668-2562 Email:sales@stoneman.ca Brazilian + Canadian Soapstone. Serpentine, Alabaster, Black Soapstone Carving Kits. Classes, Gallery

*********************** Eric's Rocks and Such, Eric Morris PO box 133 Leavenworth Indiana 47137 812-739-2358 ericsrocks11@aol.com Sells many types of soapstone N.C. red and green , Georgia Blue ,red, green. pink soapstone, black soap stone with white swirl running though it . white soapstone with black swirl ruinning though it. VA. black and green.

*********************** Alec Tiranti Limited 70 High Street, Theale, Reading RG7 5AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0)118 930 2775 Fax: +44 (0)118 932 3487 Email enquiries@tiranti.co.uk

*********************** McMarmilloyd Ltd Great Bedwyn, Marlborough, Wiltshire, U.K. 01672 870227 Marble (some rare pieces available!?) Granite, Soapstone - Will deliver

*********************** Woodstock Soapstone Company, Inc. 66 Airpark Road, West Lebanon, NH 03784 Please Call Toll-Free 1-800-866-4344, FAX 603-298-5958

*********************** Stone Design 123 Sandrah Drive Orange, MA 01364 1-800-214-8566 Voice 1-978-544-6998 Email stonedesign@stone-dsgn.com

*********************** The Compleat Sculptor, Inc. 90 Vandam St. New York, NY 10013 toll-free # 800-9-SCULPT 1-212-243-6074 Email They carry wide variety of Soapstone

*********************** Vermont Soapstone Company PO Box 268 248 Stoughton Pond Road. Perkinsville, Vermont, 05151-0268 (802) 263-5404 Fax 802-263-9451 Email: soapston@sover.net

*********************** High Cascade, Ben Barke, 12285 Allen Road, Leavenworth, Wa. 98826. Email. Robin Barke, Bhighcascade@aol.com

*********************** The New World Stone Co. (804) 831-1051 Attn: Kierk or Bill NWSC@RLC.net

*********************** Western Sculpting Supply 2855 West 8th Ave. Denver, CO 80204 303-623-4407. fax: 303-623-8439 Mari, Owner Stone supplier, tools Alabaster, soapstone

*********************** Rock & Roll Larry Rackley 4089 Capitol View, Carson City, Nevada, 89701 (775) 882-4899 Talc - Alabaster - Marble

*********************** Nigel Owen 42 High Street, Yelvertoft, Northampton, NN6 7LQ, U.K. 01788 822281 Just off Junction 18 M1 Open 9 - 5.30 Mon. to Sat (advisable to ring first) All sorts of carving stones, Soapstone, Alabaster, Limestones, Marble

*********************** Harish Seth Company: CP Seth Sons F-320, Road NO.12 MI Area Udaipur,313 001, Raj, India. Phone Number 1: +91-294 2491 955 Phone Number 2: +91-294 2491 055 Telefax: +91-294 2491 955 cpsethsons@hotmail.com

*********************** NEO:LITHIC! The Sculpture Stone Company Mail Address: Box 53501, 984 W. Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Z 1K0 Warehouse Location (by appointment): 1000 Parker St. Vancouver B.C. (604) 736-5201

*********************** Sierra Hills Stone California, African and Brazilian soapstone.Sierra Hills Stone invites artists, educators and hobbyists to discover sculpting in California soapstone (steatite). Check website for locations.

*********************** The Nasco Arts and Craft Store Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin Modesto, California I am told they carry Soapstone

*********************** Sculptor's Supplies Co. 242 Elizabeth St. New York, NY 10012 212-334-3272 *********************** Sax Arts and Crafts located in New Berlin, Wisconsin

*********************** Contemporary Stone Sculpture 90 Smyrna Landing Rd. Smyrna, DE 19977 302-653-4810 Richard H. Bailey, President Marble bases Marble, onyx, soapstone; 1,000 lbs. minimum order.

*********************** Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Gallery 11993 East U.S. 223 Blissfield, MI 49228 517-486-4591v. fax: 517-486-2249 Ken Thompson,

*********************** Blue Rock Soapstone quarry Yancey, County, North Carolina

*********************** .Western Mining Corporations local talc mine Three Springs,Western Australia, Australia

***********************

In Georgia; the Chatsworth district, east of Elberton in Elbert County, near Toccoa in Stephens County, and near Dahlonega in Lumpkin County. In the latter area, the soapstone is purer and of better quality of other Georgia soapstones.

*********************** Tim Hutchings He has several different colors available, such as, greens, whites, grays, blues, and mixtures. These are in rock form varying from 1-20 and 30lbs 760-764-2216 daytime [ let it ring ] 760-764-2585 home

*********************** Dendritic soapstone is rare (especially large pieces) and it is found in southwestern Montana, near a town named Cameron. Within a quarter-mile area, along with the white, dendritic soapstone, there are patches of mauve (pink), blue, and gold dendritic soapstone.

*********************** Talc lake British Columbia, is the site of a "war era" talc mine, there are building foundations and soapstone piles left behind to mark the mines' existence. I do not know the exact location of Talc lake, but from what I have read, it seems to be within hiking distance of the Alberta border.

*********************** The Shandong Xixia Talc Mine in Shandong Province, China

*********************** In southern California, on the Nevada-California border, Death Valley National Park is The Rainbow Talc mine

*********************** Koop's Rock Shop, Harrison Ave, Butte,MT, 406-494-3472 This talc is shades of dark green.

*********************** Jade Drive Rock Shop, E. 120 Jade Drive, Shelton, Wa 98584

*********************** Dick Blick Art Materials P.O. Box 1267 Galesburg, IL 61402-1267

*********************** Renaissance Stone Sculpture Studio and Gallery 751 Moorpark St. Oakland, Ca. 94603 (510) 638-2404

*********************** Death Valley: Butte Valley Via Warm Springs ; Heading west off of the West Side Road, this road follows Warm Springs Canyon past several talc mines.

*********************** Francestown Soapstone quarry, Francestown, Hillsborough Co., New Hampshire. First New England soapstone deposit discovered by Daniel Fuller ca.1785. Quarry closed in 1891

*********************** Talc de Luzenac is located at 6000 feet in the French Pyrenees

*********************** Gouverneur Talc Company Gouverneur, New York

*********************** McAfee Soapstone Quarry, Canton, Cherokee Co., Georgia, USA A soapstone quarry located 8.0 km West of Canton.

*********************** Near Cevilla Creek, Texas on the property of T. J. Cavender, an impure soapstone containing iron and sand was discovered in digging a well.

*********************** Osborne Soapstone quarry, Blandford, Hampden Co., Massachusetts

*********************** Page Soapstone quarry, Haverhill, Grafton Co., New Hampshire

*********************** Orford soapstone quarries, Orford, Grafton Co., New Hampshire

*********************** American Soapstone Finish Co. Quarry, Chester, Windsor Co., Vermont

*********************** Mount Fitton Talc Mines, Mount Fitton homestead, Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia

*********************** Talc Mine, Meekatharra, Western Australia, Australia

*********************** Manuels Pyrophyllite Mine on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland.

*********************** Henderson Connelly Talc mine, (Canada Talc mine) Madoc, Ontario, Canada

*********************** Robbins, NC is near the site of what was one of the world's largest talc mine

*********************** Large quantities of soapstone can be collected near Dillon Montana.

*********************** No Name Talc Alder, Montana

*********************** Canyon Talc Mines in Crystal Springs California.

*********************** Big Butte, Montana Talc mines operate within a half-day's drive

*********************** Tumbledown Mountain Talc Mine Possibly New Mexico

*********************** Ferriere, Parme, Italy

*********************** Chamonix Savoie France

*********************** Rovegno, Piacenza, Italy

*********************** Piggåsen soapstone quarry, Norway

*********************** Ubehebe Crater desert mountain ranges of California , a talc mine, Tea Kettle Junction , The roads to be traversed are passable to good high clearance vehicles

*********************** Mines worked under the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, in Co. Donegal, Province of Ulster, during the Year 1896. Crohyhead, Dungloe, North of Ireland Mining Co., Dungloe, mining Soapstone

*********************** Long Pond Newfoundland In 1898, a pyrophyllite deposit was first identified on a ridge near Johnnie's Pond. Quarrying began in 1903 and a tramway was built in 1903 to connect the mine to the railway line. Operations were suspended in 1905. In 1937 the quarry came back into production only to close in 1947. The mine re-opened in 1947 by Newfoundland Minerals Limited.

*********************** A soapstone stratum lies 16 miles southeast of Bandera City, Texas and can be reached from Boerne on the Aransas Pass Railroad at a distance of 10 miles. In the event of iron manufacture in the county this mineral would be of value in fire hearths and furnaces, also for domestic purpose, for which it is now locally used.

*********************** Virginia has a soapstone belt in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 20 miles south of Charlottesville and 70 miles west of Richmond.

*********************** Stockbridge, Vermont; the Greeley Talc Mine, After producing talc for several years at the beginning of the century, it was abandoned and nearly forgotten. It runs only about 60 meters into the hillside,

*********************** The Harold Mine, El Dorado County, California was an undeveloped prospect for soapstone (used in wood stoves and sculpting), four miles from Shingle Springs.

*********************** One company operated soapstone mines at various open pits along a narrow 4-mile-long belt in northeastern Saline County, Arkansas

*********************** Oaklawn Soapstone quarry, Oaklawn, Cranston, Providence Co., Rhode Island

*********************** Unnamed Soapstone quarry, Canterbury, Merrimack Co., New Hampshire

*********************** Richmond Soapstone Quarry, Richmond, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire

*********************** Soapstone quarry, Groton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts

***********************

Varies other locations throughout the state of Georgia, in the United States

.

Updated February 24, 2006

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving}

{Basics of Carving}{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear}

{Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

The advantage of working in soapstone is that it can be worked with hand tools. Other stones that can be carved are alabaster, onyx and serpentine.

When I first started carving, I had very little money but a lot of enthusiasm I relied on working with hand tools. I became so proficient with the files and rasps, that when I could afford power tools, I found I did not want them. The tools below are from my studio and are some of the tools I work with dailly.

Carving tools have basically always been the same, the chisel, the rasp and the mallet. Time may have improved the steel that the tools are made of, but the techniques remain the same.

At the left top, is the Combination rasp. A combination of a flat file on one side and a half round rasp on the other.

The second down is the Cabinet rasp is a wider version of the wood rasp. It also has finer teeth to give a smother finish before sanding.

Third down is the Wood rasp is available at a local hardware store. I say that with tongue in cheek, because in today's modern technology, the powers that operate the modern hardware stores, they are getting harder to find. Generally the 10 inch rasp is available. The 8 inch and 6 inch rasps are harder to find. Shown is the 6 inch rasp.

The bottom three are various sizes of Round files that can also be an excellent file for fine and detailed work. You require a single cut file. Other variations like the second cut file or chainsaw file are too fine for your purposes.

Riffler rasps are probably the most valuable tools you will have. The variation of shapes and sizes allow the carver to follow the shape of the sculpture more effectively.

These rasps are not commonly found in the average hobby store. A sculpture supply house is your best bet. Check the list at the end of the page.

At the left you can see the five basic shapes of the Habilis Rasps. Starting at the top, there is the triangular, flat, square, round and half round rasp.

These rasps are cheaper then the riffler rasps, but give the diversity of shapes.

For cutting the stone, I have found the "mini hack", a type of hacksaw made by "Stanley" to be a very versatile saw. By using carbon steel hacksaw blades and cutting, grinding or breaking the end off, you can have a saw that cuts into a drill hole or any other difficult area.

Eventually, a sculptor finds that he has to create some of his own tools to complete a sculpture. At the left, you can see three knives that I have made to help create effects by shaving the stone.The top two are knives created from power hacksaw blades designed to be used as an extension of the arm. One is sharpened with a left hand

cut and the other has a right hand cut.

The bottom tool is made from a triangular file. The tip is ground at an angle to form a triangular shaped knife. The handle is formed to fit into the palm of the hand

A hand drill or power drill should be available for "pointing". This is a technique for removing large amounts of stone from hard to file or chisel areas. I have used the term pointing for a method that involves the removal of stone in by studio apprentices. My method is different, but the result is the same. A description will be found elsewhere in these pages.

The chisel and mallet are still the prime tools of sculpture. You can purchase the sculpture chisels from a sculpture supply store if you are working on the harder varieties of soapstone. Generally, I find the common wood chisel to be equal for using with the softer stones. I prefer a mallet to a hammer for the control it gives me. At the left are some of the mallets, hammers and chisels that I use in my studio.

Francis Okie, a printing ink manufacturer from Philadelphia, invented wet or dry sandpaper. In pursuing his idea for waterproof sandpaper that would reduce the amount of dust produced while sanding. Wet or dry sandpaper solved two serious problems caused by traditional abrasives. The reduction of dust produced while sanding

meant sculptors and carvers could breathe more easily while using the product. It also allows sculptors and carvers to rinse away material removed from the sanding surface.

SILICON CARBIDE: A black (sometimes gray) abrasive, produced from silica sand and coke (a coal product). This abrasive is very hard and sharp, good for use on Soapstone (e.g., hand sanding). Silicon carbide is the abrasive most commonly used for wet/dry sandpapers. Sandpaper for wet sanding has a flexible, waterproof resin backing, and is usually coated with silicon carbide. It is used for fine finishing and polishing.

Sources for Tools

Montoya Sculpture and Supply 502 Palm Street #21., West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 (561) 832-4401 Fax (561) 833-2722 Email

Alec Tiranti Limited 70 High Street, Theale, Reading RG7 5AR, UK. Tel: +44 (0)118 930 2775 Fax: +44 (0)118 932 3487 Email

******************** Sculpture House 155 W. 26th. St. New York City, NY 10001 Toll- Free Order Line (888) 374-8665 24 Hour Fax (212) 645-3717

******************** Tabvlarasa Tabularasa srl viale dello scalo di S. Lorenzo 40 - Roma -00185- Italia +39-06-4450070 +39-06-4456760 fax

******************** Sculpture Supply Canada 345 Munster Avenue, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 3C6 Phone: (416) 234-1075 Fax:(416) 234-1516

******************** Pothier Enterprises Ltd. #4 -7187 Honeyman Street, Delta B.C. V4G 1E2 Ph. (604) 946-3811 Fax (604) 946-3788

******************** H.A. Ness & Co. Inc. P.O.Box 11, Stn 'U' Toronto, ON M8Z 5M4 Tel:(416)231-1645, Fax:(416)231-0231 Outside Toronto 1-800-668-6377 Email: glen.ness@soapstonecanada.com Milani rifflers

******************** S. B. Simpson Group Inc Kingsway Industrial 632 The Kingsway, Unit 5 & 6 Peterborough, Ontario K9J 6W4 (705) 742-4206 Fax (705) 742-1893 1-800-263-4955 Rasps, Habilis Rasps, Kingspor Sandpaper

******************** The Compleat Sculptor, Inc. 90 Vandam St. New York City, NY 10013 Toll-free # 800-9-SCULPT 1-212-243-6074 Email

******************** Western Sculpting Supply 2855 West 8th Ave. Denver, CO 80204 303-623-4407. fax: 303-623-8439 Standard stone tools, Milani tools

******************** Renaissance Stone Sculpture Studio and Gallery Rose and Robert Black 751 Moorpark St. Oakland, CA. 94603 (510) 638-2404

******************** Art City Sculpture Studios and Supply 31 Peking St. Ventura, CA 93001 805-648-1690 800-490-0746 fax: 805-648-1295

******************** Discount Marble and Tools PO Box 2721 North Hills, CA 91393 800-2-SCULPT 818-891-1909 Stone supplier, tools, hand tools,

******************** Stone Sculptors Supplies 2425..Pool Ridge Road ..Guerneville, CA 95446 ..(Open by appointment) 707-869-1021

******************** Sculpture House 405 Skillman Road PO Box 69 Skillman, NJ 08558 Phone: 609 466-2986 Fax 888 529-1980

Updated August 15, 2006

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings} {Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

The Quarrying of Soapstone

Les Pierres Stéatites Inc is the only commercial talc mine I know that mine soapstone for sculpture.

I recently took these pictures showing the removal of the blocks of soapstone in the new quarry.

The stone is cut from the floor of the quarry , by drilling a line around the desired block of stone. The block will then be separated

along the grain of the stone.

Here you can see them removing the soapstone block by block.

One of these blocks will weigh about four tons.

Here are shown some of the tools that are used in separating the stone from the floor of the quarry. By cutting the stone from the floor by hand, the mine can supply quality, fracture free blocks of soapstone for carving

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

Soapstone like any other stone can be damaged. But unlike other stone, the damage to a soapstone sculpture is more obvious. This is because of the fact that the basic component of soapstone is talc. The green colour of the soapstone is derived from impurities mixed into the talc that gives its hardness and colour. Depending on the impurities, the stone can be a variety of colours and hardness. Dolomite is a factor of the hardness of the stone of the Madoc, Ontario soapstone and magnetite is one of the main constituents of the hardness of the Virginia soapstone. Chlorite I believe is one of the main reasons for the green of the Quebec soapstone. The talc is what causes the white scratches that appear on the polished soapstone sculpture when it gets marked or damaged. A sculpture can be scratched, bruised or chipped. Each of these injuries to a sculpture requires a different method of repair.

Scratches A scratch is the simplest damage to repair. Often the mark is very slight only discolouring the stone. This can be repaired easily by rubbing oil into the scratch. If the sculpture has a wax finish, setting the sculpture in a sunlit area will cause the sculpture to heat up, allowing the wax to remelt into the scratched area, returning it to the original colour. Deeper scratches may require the sanding of the damaged area of the sculpture before finishing.

Bruises A bruise occurs when a heavy object hits the sculpture. This will cause a crushing of the stone in the contact area to a depth, depending on the force of the blow. This can not be repaired by the simple use of oil. The bruised area must be sanded down to the natural stone before oil or wax can be applied (See Sanding and

Polishing.)

Chips or Breaks Sometimes a blow will cause a portion of the sculpture to break off. If it is a clean break, the piece can be glued back using 2-part epoxy. Be careful that you have the broken piece in the correct position before the glue dries. If it is a large piece broken, you may wish to pin the piece in place. This is done by drilling two opposing holes in each side of the break and epoxying a copper pin to hold the broken pieces together. I will harden the epoxy before finishing, by heating the carving in an oven at about 100° for about a half-hour. This cures the epoxy, hardening it so the repaired area can be filed and sanded to reshape and remove the excess glue before polishing.

Looking for someone to do repairs of Steatite (soapstone) Sculptures?

Diane Caron mblainville@qc.

aira.com Tel: 1-800-363-

6367 For more

information, see her

Webpage

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Links} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

Carving A Small Swimming Loon Page1

The tools that are required to complete this carving are a hacksaw or hacksaw blade, a round file and a flat rasp. Later for the sanding and polishing, you will require Waterproof Silicon Carbide Sandpaper and Linseed Oil or Bee's wax..

1. For this carving you require a piece of stone that is 3 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches. Like the one shown at the left

The pattern for "Swimming Loon"

There are two patterns shown, due to the variations in printing between Internet Explorer and Netscape

2. Print out the pattern of the loon.

After cutting out your pattern, Place it on the stone and trace around it with a pencil or marker. When placing the pattern on the stone, the grain should be oriented along the length of the Loon.

Carving a Polar Bear

There have been numerous requests for a new carving from those that have finished the loon carving. I started with using diagrams for carving a polar bear and now have added the pictures.

The basic tools that you will need to complete this carving are;

Mini hack Hacksaw or Hacksaw blade Round file or RaspElectric Drill Half round RaspChisel and hammer Silicon Carbide Waterproof Paper

Here is the Pattern for carving a small polar bear originally designed for a piece of stone 7 inches by 4 inches by 3 inches. For a smaller or larger piece of stone change the pattern proportionally.

Carving an Eagle

The basic tools that you will need to complete this carving are;

Mini hack Hacksaw or Hacksaw blade Round file or RaspChisel and hammer Half round RaspSilicon Carbide Waterproof Paper

1. By my buying my soapstone directly from the mine "Les Pierres Stéatites Inc". in large slabs (75 pounds plus), I am not limited to restricting my ideas of what to carve. This often results in smaller odd shaped pieces of stone being leftover.

For this carving I chose one of these odd shaped pieces of stone that was on my leftover pallet. I could see that it would fit the shape of the carving I had in mind.

The piece of soapstone I am using for this carving is 7 1/2" high by 5" wide by 2 1/2" thick.

2. On the linked page is the eagle pattern I used for this carving. The pattern is designed for a 2 1/2" wide piece of stone. If you plan your sculpture to be larger, you can use your computer to enlarge the pattern.

I have published only the basic outline for the eagle, this allows you be creative with the base. This pattern I am using is 6 3/4" high. I will use the excess stone at the bottom to create the base.If the stone had been taller I would use the extra stone to give a greater height to the sculpture. I am planning for a craggy rock base for my carving, so the lines I am using for the base are very geometric.

3. I have used a bandsaw to cut out the majority form of the this eagle but discovered that I had picked a piece of stone with an inclusion of possibly serpentine in the area of the stone I intended to use as the base. As serpentine does not absorb the friction heat of the bandsaw blade, I finished cutting out the base with my mini-hack and hacksaw blade. See tools

Having completed the carving of your soapstone, you can put a glossy finish on the stone by the following the steps outlined below.

1. Remove the file marks by sanding, using 220 or 240-wet/dry sandpaper. This sanding is done wet. Hold the carving in one hand, wet the carving and the sandpaper in a container of water and begin sanding the carving with the sandpaper. The white mud that develops can be rinsed off in the container of water. Hold on to your carving as wet, smooth soapstone can be very slippery.

2. Wet sanding is done until all the file marks are removed. File marks show as white lines on your green stone.

3. After completion of the wet sanding, rinse the carving and allow to dry. The carving will turn gray when it is dry.

Polishing Soapstone with wax

4. Place the carving in a oven and heat to 250 º F. Try not to heat over 300 º F. High temperatures will not hurt the stone, (Soapstone can take temperatures of 1700 º F without any ill effect) but the beeswax will evaporate at 300 º F.

5. Remove the carving from the oven using gloves. Melt the bee's wax onto the carving by holding it against the hot stone. Spread the wax over the carving with a small soft piece of cloth. When the carving has been fully waxed, allow the carving to cool.

6. As the carving cools, the surface of the carving will turn from shiny to dull. At this point, the wax has turned from liquid to a soft solid. This is the time to begin wiping down the carving and remove the excess wax on the surface of the stone.

7. After the excess wax has been wiped off, allow the carving to fully cool. You may now polish the carving with a soft cloth sprayed with Pledge; this will bring up a high shine on the carving.

*For a higher polish, additional sanding can be done using 400, 600 or 1500 wet/dry sandpaper .

Polishing Soapstone with oil

4. Using a soft cloth, wipe on a light coat of boiled linseed oil. Tung oil or Danish oil can also be used. Do not apply heavy coats or the oil will become gummy and hard to polish.

Wipe off the excess oil and allow to dry.

5. When the oil has dried, buff with a cotton or flannel cloth to polish.

*For a higher polish, additional sanding can be done using a 400, 600 or 1500 wet/dry sandpaper

Oils

Boiled Linseed Oil Double Boiled Linseed Oil

Goddards Marble Wax

Danish Oil Tung Oil

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings} {Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

{Soapstone for Sale}

Simple Carvings from Soapstone

For some time I have been asked about easy carvings for school children and others who would like to carve something using small pieces of stone. here are four projects for the beginner that require simple tools and very little stone.

I picked the newspaper background for this series, because most schools use newspaper to cover desks while working with the soapstone and it just seemed appropriate. If you find it hard to read, Email me and I will change it

The heart pendant is a great favorite by many of the students of schools in which I have been asked to teach the basics of soapstone carving.

Click on the picture to begin

The arrowhead pendant probably comes in second by the students. Usually, girls pick the heart pendant, boys pick the arrowhead pendant.

Click on the picture to begin

The mouse carving is probably the easiest carving with the minimal of tools, You can do it with a hacksaw blade and a piece of sandpaper.

Click on the picture to begin

In the seal carving, you begin to develop shapes and angles.

Click on the picture to begin

Good Luck!

{Showdates Past and Future} {Biography} {Carving Primer} {Introduction to Carving} {Basics of Carving}

{Sources of Soapstone} {Sources for Tools}{Soapstone} {Quarrying Soapstone} {Repairing Soapstone}

{Carve a Loon} {Carve a Polar Bear} {Carve an Eagle} {Carvings on Hand} {Archived Carvings}

{Malvina Hoffman} {Ropey Atsiqtaq} {Inuit Art Beginnings} {50 years of Inuit Art}

{Soapstone for Sale}

Carving a heart pendant

1. The tools necessary for this carving, are a hacksaw blade with one end wrapped in duct tape to act as a handle. The teeth of the saw blade should always point away from the handle. You will also need a file of some type, or a coarse piece of sandpaper. For the sanding you will require several grades of silicon carbide waterproof paper, 240 and 600 grits will do.

2 I chose an square, flat piece of stone to make the heart.

3. With the hacksaw, cut off 3 corners of the square as shown in the picture on the left.

4. Cut a notch at the top, creating the semblance of a heart.

Continue

5. Using a file or piece of coarse sandpaper, take off the rough corners to shape the heart.

4. A hole is drilled in the base to attach the cording for the pendant.

The Heart is sanded and polished. Instructions here

After attaching the cording, you will have a necklace like the one below..

Index

Having completed the carving of your soapstone, you can put a glossy finish on the stone by the following the steps outlined below.

1. Remove the file marks by sanding, using 220 or 240-wet/dry sandpaper. This sanding is done wet. Hold the carving in one hand, wet the carving and the sandpaper in a container of water and begin sanding the carving with the sandpaper. The white mud that develops can be rinsed off in the container of water. Hold on to your carving as wet, smooth soapstone can be very slippery. 2. Wet sanding is done until all the file marks are removed. File marks show as white lines on your green stone. 3. After completion of the wet sanding, rinse the carving and allow to dry. The carving will turn gray when it is dry.

*For a higher polish, additional sanding can be done using a 400, 600 or 1500 wet/dry sandpaper

Polishing Soapstone with oil

4. Using a soft cloth, wipe on a light coat of boiled linseed oil. Tung oil or Danish oil can also be used. Do not apply heavy coats or the oil will become gummy and hard to polish. Wipe off the excess oil and allow to dry. 5. When the oil has dried, buff with a cotton or flannel cloth to polish.

Other Oils that have been used are; Boiled Linseed Oil, Double Boiled Linseed Oil, Goddards Marble Wax, Danish Oil and Tung Oil.

Polishing Soapstone with wax

4. Place the carving in a oven and heat to 250 º F. Try not to heat over 300 º F. High temperatures will not hurt the stone, (Soapstone can take temperatures of 1700 º F without any adverse effect) but the beeswax will evaporate at 300 º F. 5. Remove the carving from the oven using gloves. Melt the bee's wax onto the carving by holding it against the hot stone. Spread the wax over the carving with a small soft piece of cloth. When the carving has been fully waxed, allow the carving to cool. 6. As the carving cools, the surface of the carving will turn from shiny to dull. At this point, the wax has turned from liquid to a soft solid. This is the time to begin wiping down the carving and remove the excess wax on the surface of the stone. 7. After the excess wax has been wiped off, allow the carving to fully cool. You may now polish the carving with a soft cloth sprayed with Pledge; this will bring up a high shine on the carving.

Close this window to return to Carving pages

Carving an Arrowhead Pendant

1. The tools necessary for this carving, are a hacksaw blade with one end wrapped in duct tape to act as a handle. The teeth of the saw blade should always point away from the handle. You will also need a file of some type, or a coarse piece of sandpaper. For the sanding you will require several grades of silicon carbide waterproof paper, 240 and 600 grits will do.

2 I chose an almost triangular flat piece of stone to make the arrowhead. With the hacksaw, I cut off part of the back to get it to a triangular shape. Then notches are cut on either side of the back to form the arrowhead shape.

3. The edges can be beveled with a file or a piece of coarse sandpaper.

Continue

4. A hole is drilled in the base to attach the cording for the pendant.

The Arrowhead is sanded and polished. Instructions here

After attaching the cording, you will have a necklace like the one below.

Index

Carving a mouse

1. The tools necessary for this carving, are a hacksaw blade with one end wrapped in duct tape to act as a handle.

The teeth of the saw blade should always point away from the handle.

You will also need a file of some type, or a coarse piece of sandpaper.

For the sanding you will require several grades of silicon carbide waterproof paper, 240 and 600 grits will do.

2. The piece of soapstone is 1 ½" x 1 ½" x 2 ½" .

With the hacksaw blade, cut the stone to the shape as shown in the side veil above and on the left.

Continue

3. Looking from the top, cut pieces from either side to form the nose of the mouse

4. On the left is the finished shape that you have cut out with the bandsaw blade.

5. With the File or Sandpaper, file off the sharp corners and develop the finished shape of the mouse

Continue

6. The Mouse is sanded and polished.

Instructions here

7. Using a sharp object like a nail or compass you can scratch on the yes and whiskers.

A hole is drilled in the back and a tail of cording is glued into the hole to create the tail.

And on the left is your finished mouse.

Index

Carving a seal

1. The tools necessary for this carving, are a hacksaw blade with one end wrapped in duct tape to act as a handle.The teeth of the saw blade should always point away from the handle.

You will also need a file of some type, preferably a half round rasp ( I am using a Habilis rasp), or a coarse piece of sandpaper.

For the sanding you will require several grades of silicon carbide waterproof paper, 240 and 600 grits will do.

2. On the side of the piece of soapstone draw the shape of a seal as shown above. Using your hacksaw cut out the rough shape.

Then, mark a center line on the back of your seal. This will help to maintain symmetry once you begin filing.

I have also marked lines to be cut to form the head.

Continue

3. Cut the pieces off the sides of the head to develop the shape.

With the half round rasp, Start where the neck meets the body to develop the shape. It would help if you knew what a seal looked like, so find books with pictures of seals to learn their anatomy,. the more pictures you look at, the better.

In the back of the seal, cut down leaving an area on the bottom that will become the back flipper.

4. Shape the body of the seal, using the rasp.

I use various shapes of files and rasps to develop the shape according to my desire.

Continue

5. Separate the front flipper, form the face and then you are ready for sanding and polishing

Instructions here

6. The finished piece

Good luck!

Index

Pattern for Small Swimming Loon

3" x 4" x 2"

Back

I would advise reading the next several pages before starting to drill or cut.

2. After you have cut out your form. you will see that each leg extends the full width of the stone. In order to remove the unwanted stone, you will have to employ a technique known as pointing.

The masters of old would make a model of a sculpture that they intended to carve, this form could be replicated in stone by drilling hundreds of holes into the marble. These holes will weaken the stone so it can be easily removed with the mallet and chisel. In this case we will remove the unwanted portion of each leg. You should mark the areas that you are going to remove, on either side of the bear, before drilling.

3. Take caution not to drill the same leg out on both sides of the bear. The holes are drilled half the width of the stone. I gauge this by marking the drill with a marking pen to the depth I desire to drill. By keeping the holes close together, the stone should only break to the drilled line. On the picture at the left, the drill holes on the left side of the stone are shown.

4. The picture at the left shows the drill holes on the right side of the stone.

Carving an Eagle

4. Using the minihack and hacksaw blade, I begin to develop the basic shape of the eagle carving.

Cut the head to reduce the width of the piece of stone to the width of the eagle's head.

The back is cut back at an angle to develop the wings to the width of the tail.

Where the eagle joins the base, cut about the depth of the hacksaw blade on each side.

On the left is the back view, on the right is the front view of your carving at this point.

5. Using the flat rasp, angle the body from the shoulder of the wing to the neck of eagle.

Using a hammer and chisel, chip off the square corners of the front and bottom of the eagle. This is to take away the squareness of the stone and begin to define the shape of the eagle. Do not chisel any stone from the tail portion of the sculpture. This can be a delicate area due to the thinness of the tail and there is a very distinct possibility of breaking to much of the tail off while chiseling. It will be easier to file it into shape.

At the top of the base, chip the stone back to the bottom of the saw cut to give the definition between bird and base.

Carving an Eagle

6. I have started this carving by defining the neck of the eagle. I am using a half round rasp to shape the neck. Starting on the back of the eagle, I shape the neck and begin to develop the shoulders of the wings and continuing to the front of the eagle, blending into the breast of the bird.

As you can see by the drawing, any time you are filing and shaping the sculpture, you are usually working in two directions at the same time. Try to attune your thinking to seeing three dimensional. Most people are commonly inclined to seeing things two dimensionally, like looking at a TV screen.

7. You now begin to shape the front of the eagle. Keeping in mind the shape of an eagle, form the breast, blending it into the neck and carrying the line back to the tail. Keep in mind the shape of a bird as you work.

8. When carving the back of the eagle, it is not simply a matter or rounding the back. You must keep in mind that you are carving in two directions at the same time.

To develop the wing shape, file from the shoulder back towards the tip on the wings. I hope that the file marks of the picture on the left will indicate the direction of the shaping of the folded wings on the back of the eagle.

The Vee where the wings fold onto the back, showing the wing tips, are created with the round file.

Carving an Eagle

9. With a round file, starting at the tips of the wings, create the edge of the wing. The edge of the wing will blend into the body somewhere near the base. As I have said before, keep in mind the shape of the eagle as you are creating it.

Here we have the front and back of the sculpture at this point.

10. To begin create the head and beak, cut the front of the head to create the the planes of the beak and head, as shown in the picture.

Never cut to a the centre line.

Leave enough stone to allow you to file and sand the beak to its finish.

11. The first cut to form the area where the beak meets the head is made with a large round file.

Starting at the bridge of the beak, cut down and back to define the separation between head and beak, as shown in the picture on the left.

Carving an Eagle

12. I usually form the beak with a 6" round file. Used as an extension of my arm and holding the file at a 45 º angle, the pressure of my shoulder allows me to use it as a knife.

The tip of the beak has a definite hook to it.

Leave enough stone to allow for sanding to the finished shape. Keep in mind that sanding is also a form of carving and shaping.

13. Here is the carving to this point. I generally use a flat file and the round file used as a knife to take off the rough edges and blend the lines of the carving.

The head has been shaped. You may see that there is a gradual slope in the neck between the shoulders of the bird and the head.

14. The base is an area where you can let your imagination run wild. I have carved my base to represent craggy boulders as on a mountain peak.

You may have other ideas in designing the base to accentuate the presence of the eagle.

Carving an Eagle

15. You are now ready to sand and polish your carving.

Here are the instructions for sanding and polishing.

Keep in mind that you are still removing stone when you are sanding. Indiscriminate sanding will result in you losing all the lines that you worked so hard at creating. Sand your carving as you were carving to define the beak and lines of the eagle

The finished carving

5. To facilitate the easy removal of the drilled area, using the hacksaw blade, cut down at the centre line on the base of the carving. With a hammer and chisel you will find that the weakened areas can be removed quite easily. Never try to force the stone to break, tap gently and if it does not break easily, try from a different angle.

The red lined areas on the diagram below show the areas to remove if viewed from the bottom.

6. This is the view that you should see when viewed from the bottom after the unwanted stone has been removed with the hammer and chisel .

7. Reduce the width of the piece of stone to the desired width of the head of the polar bear is removed as indicated. ( approximately. 2 inches) Using a rasp or the hacksaw blade.

8. Using the Hacksaw or a flat rasp angle the body to meet the head.

9. You are now ready to shape the body. Using the half round rasp define the body as you outline the position of the legs and head.. This consists of three basic cuts on either side of the bear. The 1st cut starts in front of the shoulder hump and runs down about halfway between the forward leg and the head. The 2nd cut starts behind the hump and runs down behind the front leg. The 3rd cut starts in front of the hip and runs down in front of the hind leg. These cuts should be shaping the body at the same time as they are starting to define the body and leg areas.

This diagram shows these cuts.

10. The basic cuts to form the muscle structure of the legs are shown at left. You can now begin to see where the major muscle areas will be located.

The muscle structure of the bear of the bear is shown on the linked page.

11. The basic rasp body shaping lines travel between the legs and will come up the back of each leg.

12. Continue to develop the muscle structure of the bear and finish the the individual details of each muscle.

13. The line that forms the back leg comes between the back legs and joins at the base of the tail. The convergence of these lines will form the

tail.

Below is the muscle structure of the bear you are working on. Those initial file lines that you put in do not come to a dead end. the 1st cut will shape the neck, go around the inside of the front leg an join up with the 2nd cut. The 3rd cut will go in front of the hind leg, around the inside of the leg an come up the back to form the tail. Yes, bears have tails.

Notice how similar the bear's bone structure is to your own. Keeping this in mind, you can see your muscles react when placed in the same position.

14. Using a small round file indicate the area that will become the bear's ears.

The first rasp cuts for the face of the bear start where the brow of the bear meets the muzzle and angles back to well below the ears blending into the neck.

15. A detail view of the initial cuts in the forming of the head.

16. You can see how the body lines go between the legs

17. Define the ears and shape the nose and muzzle.

You can see the symmetry of the body and head in relation to the centre line.

18. Put the final touches by smoothing the rough shape of the muscle structure.

I generally use a round file held at an angle for this purpose.

19. This is a view of the other side of the bear.

Then on to the sanding .

20. After the carving has been sanded, you can see the emergence of the colour of the stone, all it needs is the polishing.

21. The finished carving, sanded and polished.

I hope you enjoyed the experience.

Sandy

Carving a swimming Loon Page 2

3. The form on the left has been cut out on a bandsaw.

One of the properties of soapstone, is that it will absorb the heat created by the friction of saw tooth on stone. The teeth will wear, but the blade will not burn up

4. After marking the center line on the stone, cut with the hacksaw blade about 3/8 of an inch off each side of what will become the head. The corners of the body area are cut , in anticipation of creating an oval, or egg shape to the body.

The sides of the body can be cut on a slant with the hacksaw blade at this time.

Carving a swimming Loon Page 3

5. Using the round file, create a definition of the neck at the junction where the neck meets the body, . The main idea is to define where the neck and body meet. The back of the loon is then rounded to create the body shape of a loon. The flat rasp is the best tool to accomplish this.

6. The next area to work on, is to define where the neck meets the head. Begin with the round file, and after the definition is there, finish shaping the neck with the flat rasp. Try to remember to keep the symmetry of the carving as you work. It is often helpful to step back from the carving to gain a three dimensional perspective. The finished neck will have an oval shape with the small end of the oval in the front

Carving a swimming Loon Page 4

7. We finally come to the head. The area where the bill joins the head is made using the round file. The cut starts at the top of the bill and is cut down and toward the back of the head. The bill has a triangular shape with a rounded bottom.With the flat rasp you can then shape the rest of the head.

8. Remove the file marks by sanding, using 220 or 240-wet/dry sandpaper. This sanding is done wet. Hold the carving in one hand, wet the carving and the sandpaper in a container of water and begin sanding the carving with the sandpaper. The white mud that develops can be rinsed off in the container of water. Hold on to your carving as wet, smooth soapstone can be very slippery.

At the left is the sanded carving without the polishing

Carving a swimming Loon Page 5

9. There are two ways to polish the carving. The bee's wax polish or the linseed oil polish.

Here are the instructions for both.

The finished carving.

The colour and mottling will vary, depending on the stone you are using.

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