How to Choose Stones for a Sculpture
Every artist bent upon creating a beautiful object requires great materials with which to work. Musicians love great instruments, painters have favorite paint brushes, writers often become fixated upon their Civil War-era typewriters, and sculptors and stone masons are no exception. Choosing the right stone for sculpting is essential to the success of any project. Making the wrong choice can result in thousands of hours of wasted effort and vision, and can cost artists and their patrons considerably in terms of money, time, and emotional distress.
Stones used for sculpting need to be soft enough to shape effectively, yet firm enough to hold their shape. Choosing to soft a stone can put sculptors at risk of having a muddled, confusing presentation. Stones that are too dense can be extremely difficult to shape. In fact, working with too dense of a material can cause artists to use too much force in their efforts, resulting in cracking, chipping, or even eventually ruining a project.
The beauty of the material can not be overlooked, either. Marble, a traditional choice for sculptors and stone masons alike, is gorgeous to behold and feels smooth to the touch. While expensive, experienced sculptors know that choosing a great base material can make all the difference in the final outcome of their labors.