Media: Sculpture — Carving Looking from the outside in Sculptors who carve their pieces see things a little differently than the rest of us. Where we see a block of stone or a chunk of wood, these artists see form waiting to emerge. Chipping off the old block Walter Robinson The artist usually begins by blocking out the rough shape of the work, accounting for the outermost extensions of the form (an outstretched arm, for example), and then moves progressively inward from largest to smallest details. Chip by chip, wood or stone is removed until only the desired form remains. The tools of carving differ according to the material used, but usually they include chisels and gouges to remove the material, and rasps and files to smooth the surfaces. When the basic form is complete, the artist uses these tools to give the piece the desired texture or finish. Timely and timeless We may well wonder why anyone in our mechanized society would still use this laborious process, what with all the bandages and calluses it inevitably entails. But many sculptors savor the carving process precisely because it is a time-honored, time-intensive process that provides an intimate connection to their artistic predecessors and their materials. The time required to carve a sculpture allows sculptors to hone their vision and develop a deep understanding of organic forms. This painstaking artistic effort is a tribute to the time required in nature for forms to develop and evolve. Click on a technique to learn more about sculpture methods. Carving  Modeling  Casting  Constructing