Limestone Woman Sculpting with Eddie Morrison

Time to get back to my limestone fence post project .

Get your stone sculpting tools out and get ready to create.

So thankful I can still wrestle the stones, I'm truly blessed.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay get your stone sculpting tools out and let's go to work. First make slices with your angle grinder with a diamond blade. Then use your stone chipping hammer to break off where you made the slice cuts. Keep repeating until you get close to the form you want to achieve. Some sculptors use an air hammer chisel to shape the stone, I prefer the slice and dice method. Once we get there we will start refining our areas we cut. More to come.

Okay let's make something great. Stay safe my friends.

Okay let's rough in the face this morning.

First draw a face on the stone where you want it, doesn't have to be perfect, then with your angle grinder cut the outline of the face, then with a die grinder or hand chisel bring eyes, nose and mouth out, still doesn't have to be perfect we will detail later.

My concept for my piece is a pretty lady with long flowing hair coming over her shoulders, she will be holding a basket. You can make yours holding something or nothing, up to you as the artist.

Have fun.

Stay safe.

Okay this morning let's remove some stone. First draw on the piece how you want to lay it out. Make your cuts and break off where you cut. Keep in mind where the hands will be on the basket or whatever its holding, mine will be holding a basket and her hair will be under her arms. I kinda outlined so you could see where and how hands will be holding it. You have to always be thinking and visioning in your mind as you go and cut. She's starting to come alive. We removed lots of stone this morning. Remember have fun enjoy it. Watch your fingers. Stay safe.

Okay today I changed to a grinding blade on my 4 and half inch angle grinder, the blade is for concrete, masonry and stone. I get them at Lowe's. I'm using my small angle grinder on this softer limestone, if doing a larger harder stone I would use my 7 inch angle grinder.

So just start smoothing out the surface where you made your cuts and you can do some shaping where arms and hands will be. You can see the arms starting to develop. I keep forgetting to say wear eye protection, wear your mask, wear protection if you are promiscuous, lol ,just kidding.

Okay go for it, take your time, have fun.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay fyi I have 3 sizes of angle grinders , a 4 and half inch, a 7 inch, and my big tool a 9 inch grinder, the 7 inch weighs 5 lbs and the 9 inch weighs 15 lbs, so if you want to build your muscles and put in a good days work use the big one. But for beginners a 4 and half inch is sufficient for soft stones, you can use grinding wheels or diamond wheels on them ,plus good tools cost alot.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay most of you working along with me should be pretty close to this point on our lady. All the square edges cut and knocked off , and you should see her start to take form like a person. Keep working, have fun, take all the time you want with it, don't expect your first piece to be great.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay I have all the cut marks grinded out smoothly with my angle grinder and it's exciting to see her start to come alive, still excites me after all these years, I guess if it didn't I wouldn't still be doing it with a passion. Talk to her, whisper to her how beautiful she is, keep that image in your mind.

Keep working. Tomorrow we start detailing out the face and hands. One thing I want to say is if you dont like getting dirty and dusty and lifting heavy stones, sculpting may not be for you. Have fun with it.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay this morning I started making her face look pretty, her lips nose, eyes. I keep in mind that a female usually has softer features than a man.

I took a picture of her face just roughed out to start. The picture of my fine Italian rasps I've had over 40 years are good for hand detailing.

I laid out where I want her hands to be on the basket she is holding. Will detail the basket the wept and the warp last.

Remember to whisper to her how beautiful she is and keep that image in your mind to make her look like that.

Good sculpting to you. Have fun.

Stay safe.

This morning I'm working on the arms and hands and marked where they should approximately should be. I found this picture of proportions of the body you can use for a guide. I'm not a realist but on this piece I want it to be approximately and impressionistic proportional.

Have fun.

Stay safe.

Okay I laid in where I want basket, will detail the basket last with the hair. And have left enough stone for the hands holding it to be detailed appropriately. I will start working on her hair hanging down and how some of it will be under the basket.

Keep whispering to her how beautiful she is, visualize in your mind and let your hands put it into the stone.

Have fun with it,keep working.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay let's start detailing the hands holding the basket, have someone hold something or look in a mirror and hold something so you can have idea of how they look. Pencil in fingernails and proportion accordingly. The right hand will be a little more challenging because it is cupped and holding bottom of basket.

Work on them, it will get easier. Doesn't have to be perfect long as people get the impression of them.

Have fun, keep working, I'm still learning too.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay working on her hair this morning. I made marks on her of how I want hair to hang and flow, and where part will be. I took off excess and shaped. Picture of the round bit I use on my die grinder to make flow of her hair in the stone. Keep working on her, she's going to be be beautiful. Have fun. Have a good weekend. Stay safe

Okay friends and interested learners I put the hair on her where I want it. Will come back to it last and shape it up. Overall I'm happy with the way she is looking, just the way I visualized her.

Enjoy your weekend have fun stay cool.

Be safe my friends.

Okay this morning time to get the elbow grease out and start the detailing and fine sanding.

I marked where I want her wrap and neck to be and marked out necklace I will put 7 little beads on it to honor our 7 clans.

As you know this is an old limestone fence post and you can see an old iron nail above the basket I will incorporate it into a necklace. Lots of big shell fossils on her backside I will let show. I'm pretty happy with her.

Ok work away have fun don't get too hot stay hydrated.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay I laid her down, I like to look at the work upside down, sometimes I see places that need attention. But I can also do the fine sanding easier.

Have fun ,stay cool.

Stay safe my friends

This morning doing some creative thinking about the basket she is holding, I roughly drew where I want the wept and warp, no I'm not going to make anything fancy no double or triple wall , just a simple oak splints basket like in the old days.

Enjoy the hot weather have fun, lol.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay this morning I am using my little dremel with a good bit for lines. I am cutting in the lines for the wept and warp weave. Just roughing in the lines then I will go back and fine detail so that you can see the weave in and out.

It's fun, hopefully you will have fun with it too.

Remember we are doing impressionism in stone not trying to be a realist, I will leave that to someone else.

Stay safe enjoy the weekend, we will finish this up next week.

Hopefully Shalah Lightfoot Smith will have fixed the nose she broke off her piece. Sometimes they are repairable and sometimes you have to just start over.

Hawa.

Okay this morning I worked on her basket and necklace, taking good shape. Will put some strawberries in her basket next.

I always get antsy and want to rush up to finish when I get close to completing, but control yourself and dont rush it or it will show. The question I get ask most is how long does it take you, I borrowed an answer from a famous mentor and say I take long as I want.

Keep working have fun.

Stay safe my friends.

This morning I'm working on her face fine sanding the rough spots out, and working on her eyes and lips. I'm using a silicone carbide screen which really takes the rough spots out and leaves a smooth finish. Keep working on the lips and the eyes and watch her expression change. It has a more pleasant but serious look and will get better the more I push them.

Remember keep whispering how beautiful she's going to be, even prettier than the gal in the Mona Lisa, lol. We are getting closer, yay.

Have fun. Keep working.

Stay safe.

This morning I laid her down to touch up the rough spots I missed, and to get rid of the wobble in her base so she will stand firmly .

Tomorrow we will complete her and wash her down, yay!

Have fun.

Stay safe.

I thought I would be through with my girl by today, but working on her base turned out to be challenging and then I keep seeing little things that need attention. So remember no matter how excited you are to finish up, take time to make every little thing right and acceptable to you.

Have a good weekend.

Stay safe my friends.

Okay yay!! I signed my name on my work and washed her down , she looks good to me ,just need to touch up some minor spots There are some really nice shell fossils in the stone I left them so the stone can tell it's own story. My impressionism in this old limestone fence post that stood on the prairie in north central Kansas for 150 years or more has a new life now, it always makes me feel good to give stone or wood a new life. I gave her a name a friend suggested. "SHE BRINGS HAPPINESS ". Can one of my fluent Cherokee language friends tell me what the phonetic spelling of that is?

I hope everyone enjoyed the tutorials I posted and hopefully you will try your hand at being a sculptor, I love doing it. Good luck to you and stay safe my friends. Thank you. Wado.