Stone Symposium
In New Plymouth at present, on a beautiful location on the foreshore,
there are 25 people carving andesite, a local stone is found in abundance here.
I did a course on sculpting with this stone but found that working with grinders and sanders for days on end was not particularly to my liking. It is a noisy and dusty process and andesite is as hard as steel. After that I switched to Fimo.
In New Plymouth at present, on a beautiful location on the foreshore,
there are 25 people carving andesite, a local stone is found in abundance here.
I did a course on sculpting with this stone but found that working with grinders and sanders for days on end was not particularly to my liking. It is a noisy and dusty process and andesite is as hard as steel. After that I switched to Fimo.
The course did however give me an appreciation of just what it takes to approach a boulder and try to make something of it so I’ve been to visit the symposium two or three times.
One of my favourite pieces is a kiwi, done by a Belgian, Pierre Closset. Apparently he has never seen a kiwi, and judging by the work he hasn’t even looked too closely at a photo of one either, yet there is a freshness and comicality to his sculpture.
Another piece that I liked was this one by a local, Renate Verbrugge. Looking like
a large plankton, I have found that it holds my attention.
a large plankton, I have found that it holds my attention.
Here is a link to the symosium’s website. Do visit it, it is very well constructed, with lots of
information.