Reflection:

Three of the most important things that I have learned about carving stone is to overexaggerate your details, since most of it will be lost after the final sanding. Additionally, I learned the importance of sawing off excess pieces to save myself time and energy later in the process, and I learned that you actually have to be very careful and gentle with stone to avoid bruising and imperfections on the surface.

I’m not super thrilled with my carving, since I think there are some things I could’ve done a lot better, such as making sure the details would shine through after sanding, and making sure the folding of the shapes and the curves felt natural and made sense based on how I was forming it. I would probably try to exaggerate my curves, specifically my highs and lows to create a more dynamic final piece.

I liked carving alabaster the same as carving soap, just for different reasons. For soap carving the process went much quicker, and it was very satisfying to work on, and I liked having the ability to add tiny details without having to put in a lot of physical effort. On the other hand, the smell of the soap was a little bit much as times, and the feeling of the soap on your hands was fairly uncomfortable. Additionally, the soap carving will deteriorate and degrade over time, since it can’t withstand major changes in temperature. In contrast, the alabaster will hold up well for years, and is significantly less smelly once finished. Although, the larger scale was more rewarding to finish, there was a lack of super tiny details that I usually enjoy doing, and I found it difficult to manipulate the stone to my liking.

One piece of insight that Anne gave us that helped carve my stone better was the advice about sanding. She said that once we think we’re done, we should take that moment to do another round, just to ensure the quality of the sanding, and the end product.