Stormcarver
 
 
The bottom pic shows the color this stone will be when it’s complete. It tends to pick up oils from my hands as I work, giving it a finish. I think you can see why I chose it for this project. :) I have been having fits with my tools and the stone so far, because the Pipestone oxydizes like crazy, and really fast. All the leather wraps on my knives are covered in red, and the blades are turning my hands/fingers black wherever I hold them for any length of time. The stone itself, after any length of contact with my skin, or even just sitting in the humidity, will get that really red finish you see on the side view above, which is hard to work with. I actually have to scrape through the oxidation in order to carve further. I have to run errands today (like getting a case/carrier for my MacBook, wahoo!), so won’t get to carve til later. That works out, as the sun hits the back porch just right from about 2-6pm. Wonder how much I will be able to get done today, chasing kids and all.....
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Pipestone Rose, cont'd. i I work into the outlines a bit with a narrow blade to make them stronger so that they don’t disappear into the dust generated as I begin to really work with them. I also opted to use the Black & Decker dremel tool to get a general shape. I knew fairly quickly that if I went my normal way and shaped them with a larger knife, I would be investing at least a week just in the shaping. Not gonna happen. I did finish them out with the knife, though, for smoothness and consistency. With that done, I began to pull out the stone that doesn’t belong. I know that sounds odd, but it’s the way I think of it. I use various blades, depending upon the thickness and length needed, to remove the excess and begin the rounding out of the petals. This is what I have of the first rose, after about 6 hours work: All images are the physical and intellectual property of Barbara Minnick, aka Stormcarver. Unauthorized use prohibited.