Good news for lovers of the beautiful white stuff from Colorado called Yule Marble (yes we have beautiful white stuff that is not snow!) After being closed for 10 months the quarry is reopening under new ownership.
Read the Denver Post article.
It seems that Colorado Marble and Carrara Marble are now linked: the new owner is from Carrara, Italy!
I'm actually working on a small piece of snow white Yule Marble right now, so I was pleased to hear this news.
Showing posts with label marble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marble. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
At Phipps Garden Center, a sculptor teaches working with marble ...
At Phipps Garden Center, a sculptor teaches working with marble ...
There are other places to learn to work with marble, but it is always good to learn of places that teach and encourage working with this beautiful stone.
One beautiful place to learn about carving Marble is in the town of Marble, here in Colorado. The Marble Marble Symposium takes place every summer in this small town not far from Aspen.
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There are other places to learn to work with marble, but it is always good to learn of places that teach and encourage working with this beautiful stone.
One beautiful place to learn about carving Marble is in the town of Marble, here in Colorado. The Marble Marble Symposium takes place every summer in this small town not far from Aspen.
Posted using ShareThis
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Marble Sculptor Claire McArdle
Claire McArdle currently lives outside Longmont, Colorado and is a fantastic sculptor. She works in a variety of media, but I particularly like her marble pieces.
The Old Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Ave, in Longmont is featuring McArdle's work in an exhibition called "Myth & Mystery" which runs through Oct. 18.
McArdle began working large scale in marble after visiting Italy. Three of hre large marble pieces will be in this Longmont exhibition.
The Old Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Ave, in Longmont is featuring McArdle's work in an exhibition called "Myth & Mystery" which runs through Oct. 18.
McArdle began working large scale in marble after visiting Italy. Three of hre large marble pieces will be in this Longmont exhibition.
Monday, August 25, 2008
How Hard is that Stone to Carve?
People often wonder how hard a stone is to carve. Of course, there are two meanings to this question. One being, how challenging is it to carve anything? Most people seem daunted at the prospect of the subtractive process of carving (as compared to the additive process of building up a sculpture from clay, for example.)
Today I'm going to address the other meaning behind that question. Literally, how hard is that stone? Some stones are actually pretty soft and can be scratched with your fingernail, making them about 1-2.5 on the Mohs scale. Soapstone is a good example of this soft stone. Soapstone comes in a wide variety of colors, depending upon where it is found. It is easy to carve. Again, it scratches quite easily, so keeping it looking good can be a challenge, especially if it will be handled a lot.
The Mohs scale is the scale of hardness for all stones.
Pretty much everyone knows that diamonds are about as hard as they get and it takes very special tools (and skills) to work with diamonds, a 10 on the scale. Most stones used for sculptures fall somewhere between those two extreme--between 4 and 7 on the scale.
The numbers are deceptive, they really don't go up in an easy progression. Each number reflects a significantly harder level. Granite and some marbles are quite hard and are typically worked using diamond or carbide tipped tools. Other stones use a basic tool--and are a lot easier on the body to carve when using handtools.
So if you have the proper tools, even a hard stone on the Mohs scale can be carved. If you have the wrong tools, carving that same stone will be next to impossible.
One of the challenges is that since stone is a natural medium, the stones are not pure...I've carved many stones in the 5 range on the Mohs scale that had bits of iron and quartz in them. Quartz is officially a 7 on the scale. When I ran over the iron and the quartz bits I totally ruined my standard file. When using a carbide or diamond file on the softer stone it is overkill. Getting both components to be even level and looking good is a challenge and an awesome result when done well.
Today I'm going to address the other meaning behind that question. Literally, how hard is that stone? Some stones are actually pretty soft and can be scratched with your fingernail, making them about 1-2.5 on the Mohs scale. Soapstone is a good example of this soft stone. Soapstone comes in a wide variety of colors, depending upon where it is found. It is easy to carve. Again, it scratches quite easily, so keeping it looking good can be a challenge, especially if it will be handled a lot.
The Mohs scale is the scale of hardness for all stones.
Pretty much everyone knows that diamonds are about as hard as they get and it takes very special tools (and skills) to work with diamonds, a 10 on the scale. Most stones used for sculptures fall somewhere between those two extreme--between 4 and 7 on the scale.
The numbers are deceptive, they really don't go up in an easy progression. Each number reflects a significantly harder level. Granite and some marbles are quite hard and are typically worked using diamond or carbide tipped tools. Other stones use a basic tool--and are a lot easier on the body to carve when using handtools.
So if you have the proper tools, even a hard stone on the Mohs scale can be carved. If you have the wrong tools, carving that same stone will be next to impossible.
One of the challenges is that since stone is a natural medium, the stones are not pure...I've carved many stones in the 5 range on the Mohs scale that had bits of iron and quartz in them. Quartz is officially a 7 on the scale. When I ran over the iron and the quartz bits I totally ruined my standard file. When using a carbide or diamond file on the softer stone it is overkill. Getting both components to be even level and looking good is a challenge and an awesome result when done well.
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