Pipestone Rosebud I

Despite still being fairly pissed off over the destruction of the World Rose, I was in a groove and needed to work. I cut some of the new pipestone I recently got from Outwest Trade Company and got to it.

There were a number of smaller pieces in my order this time, so cutting was fairly minimal. This piece, cut, is about 2”x1”x1”.

To making holding it easier while I carve, one of the first things I do is take the sharp angles off the corners. Longer straight blades are what I usually prefer for doing this, although with harder materials like this, the 12mm skew helps me get a little more guided pressure on the blade surface.

The next step is to map out where the petals will lie on the top of the rosebud. I plan them out layer by layer, from outside to inside, then put them into the stone with the point of a very small Exacto skew. After this is done, I shape out the outer top curves with small skews.

Friday, December 29, 2006

With more small skews, I begin taking out the material between petals. If I didn’t do this, I would quickly lose track of all the lines and where I originally saw the petals. It has happened before, and the rose, although it worked, looked nothing like the original plan. For this reason, once the lines for the insides of petals are added, I trace each petal with pencil before this step.

I round out the bottom with larger straight blades and the 12mm skew. Yes, I realize that this one is a bit oblong, but that will be fixed later. :)

The layout for the exterior petals is done next, laying in the lines with a smaller skew blade. Then the stone is carved from the lower-lying petals to define the upper, usually with varying sizes of skew. Any top interior petals exposed by this process are also shaped at this point.

The outer petal curves are carved in with varying skews and the curved Microtool. With that done, the beginning of the overall body curve can be done. Again, this is usually done with straight blades, but, in this case, I prefer the 12mm skew, with appropriate small skews working in close to the petal overlaps.

Interior petal curves are shaped with the smallest skew blades and they are separated and defined during this process.

I still have to work on the outer areas under the top curves of the interior petals, and generally thin them out. Think I will do this today while J take the kids to their grandparent’s house (for the weekend! Wahoo!).