Stone featured at Third Friday

Soapstone, Debbie Englund

On August 19 Central Carolina Community College Sculpture program will feature an exhibit of stone work by students in the Professional Arts and Crafts:  Sculpture courses.  The gallery is located at 138 North Chatham Avenue in downtown Siler City, North Carolina and is open 6:00 to 9:00 the third Friday of every month during the Art Walk sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Incubator.   At other times visitors are welcome Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9:30am to 4:00pm. 

"I have really enjoyed stone carving.  When carving the black soapstone, I used curved shapes as well as straight edges to create variety in the piece.  I left raw edges at the top and bottom of the stone to provide contrast with the smooth areas.  I especially liked finishing the piece; smoothing the surface to bring out all the natural color and grain lines in the stone.                                                                                                                     
Debbie Englund

 “I had a number of pieces of raw stone to choose from. I chose this one because it was very different from all of the others. Narrow and wedge shaped. It really did call out to me because of that difference.

“After I had made my choice I set the stone on a table and just looked at it for a while walking around it, studying from all angles. I knew that I wanted to leave areas of the natural surface untouched. I was going to treat the worked surfaces to bring out the deep luster of the stone, to help create an even more striking contrast between the worked and natural surfaces.

“I finally decided that I wanted to make the piece seem bigger than it was, to add volume, to let the inside out. I wanted to be able to see more than what was there, so I decided to open up the piece, but I wanted to do it in a way that would make the inner space as much of a focal point as the exterior.

“The connection between the two sides was a way of joining all the surfaces together in one continuous flow and directing the eye to move around and through the final work.”

Brian McGowan  

 

Alabster, Trish Welsh

“I had never worked with stone before and absolutely loved it!  I loved the carving and the process of deduction.  This piece started out as peas in a pod but evolved into something abstract.  The process was lots of work and lots of fun!”

Trish Welsh

“From the pebbles in the streams I wandered at as a child, rocks broken or stacked in walls as a young man, or drafted in my career into facades of marble and granite: the sensuality and beauty of stone has instilled in me an abiding love of the "bones of the earth". My avocation has allowed me opportunity to study and analyze many works crafted from that marrow and marvel at those whose hands created them through the ages. These pieces represent an humble attempt at the reinterpretation of those studies synthesized with modern techniques and language.”

Greg Bailey

Soapstone, Greg Bailey

“What I love about working with stone is how I can get completely lost in it.  When I am working with clay or metal, the process includes creating lots of small individual components and building them on top of each other to create depth and design.  Like a chess game, my mind is constantly thinking at least three or four moves ahead as I build my way to the finished sculpture. 

“With stone carving, the process is strictly subtractive and to create texture and layers, I have to take away from the stone.  However, I only take what the stone will give me and I determine this by following its natural shape and grain.  The result is very different from what I’m used to because I’ve given in to my medium almost completely.  The result is very organic and I like to think that the stone’s actual soul is now willingly exposed for the world to see.”

Darren Powers