some info for N in Zimbabwe

Dear N,

Thank you for writing. I think that learning to use granite is an excellent idea.

I don't know what kind of stone is local to your area, but if you have access to any African Black granite you might want to begin with that. African Black granite is one of my favorite stones. this is an exquisite material, highly esteemed around the world.

People are much more drawn to granite than they are to soapstone, a material I have available locally, but never use anymore. A polished surface is especially attractive in granite.

The fact that granite can be left outdoors makes it all the more competitive as a design or art material.

I feel that people are hungry for material like this, material that speaks of the natural and eternal bond between human and Earth.

I won't lie to you: the maintenance of standard granite carving tools (chisels, machines, etc) is very difficult and expensive. I learned stone sculpture in Japan, and when I came back here to Virginia I found it very difficult to keep working in granite.

I couldn’t keep my chisels sharpened, because the bench grinder didn’t have the right type of wheel; the compressor wasn’t big enough, my neighbors didn’t deserve to be disturbed with noise of saws & machines, etc. etc.

But I still have managed to keep doing some work in granite, despite that fact that the stone itself is incredibly hard to obtain in my area.

If you know of anyone in your area who is working in granite, try to make contact with them and see if they can teach you a little bit about the tools and techniques they use. Hands-on learning is the best way to learn granite sculpture.

Getting started in granite will depend on your budget. Shop very slowly and carefully. A few simple tools will get you on the road.

Also, don’t be afraid to improvise, both in the way you use tools and in the product or art work you create.

If you plan to export your artwork or craft, you might want to do some research on buying trends. In my country, “Gifts that give more” and the fair trade market are becoming more and more widely recognized.

People are becoming more & more concerned with replacing their exploitative buying habits with economic transactions that will make this planet a safer, better, more stable place.

I think that knick-knacky things are going out of style, and ugly plastic things are going out of style really fast, so stone is a good material for these times.

Speaking from experience, I would say definitely avoid making things that are too gimmicky. People need hope, not gimmicks.

Sustainability and fair trade is becoming much more mainstream now. People are less and less interesting in buying things which look like they may have originated in a sweatshop. They just don't want the guilt.

As far as themes go, something I have learned is that people respond well to animal artwork, and agricultural themes. If you do build your work around this kind of theme, try not to join the ranks of artists and artisans who are doing this in a really lazy or otherwise tacky way. Folk and Native handicrafts that wear the “made for tourists” stamp depress me more than a little.

Relating the sculpture or product conceptually to the idea of wildlife or cultural conservation might be a good way to increase your audience. But don’t be afraid to make your work completely abstract, or functional, or completely neutral in the sense that it imitates or simply observes nature, or the universe, or your complete and total surprise to find yourself in it.

I hope you don't mind me giving you so many tips about the artistic content. I don't know anything about your current work, although I am curious to see it.

Perhaps you already have developed a clear vision of what you want your work to be, and you have found a successful formula which allows your art to bring food to your table. I sincerely hope that this will be the case for you, but please be patient with yourself if it doesn't work out like that right away. I myself have found only frustration and misery when I try to force my work into some framework of marketability.

Were you thinking of making large or small pieces? What size pieces do you have available to you? Is there any natural granite, esp. river stones?

Perhaps a good starting project would be making a shallow bowl from a found piece of stone, either with a bit of abrasive stone or a hammer and carbide chisel.

Sumi ink patterns and patinas are two other interesting (and easy) treatments for granite, especially natural stones.

Sumi is a wonderful ink which is thinned with water, yet when it dries it is basically permanent, even outdoors. It is beautiful and it mimics the effects of geology.

As far as carving tools go…a used or new carbide chisel and a well-balanced hammer (which you may already have) are a good bet for your first purchase. Carbide chisels are around 7000-10,000 yen at Okayasu steel in Japan. There are other tool manufacturers in Japan but Mr. Okayasu speaks English the best, as I remember.

A koyasuke is another hand tool I highly recommend. This is a pitching tool with a carbide face. Also about 7000-10000 yen, if I remember correctly. None of these tools are cheap, unfortunately.

A set of hand polishing stones might also be a good beginning purchase. Again, I have found Japanese tools to be the best. Manmade stones, similar to knife sharpening stones, are preferable to diamond sandpaper pads and the like. Ordinary knife sharpening stones might work fine as a polishing abrasive, although they won't create much of a shine.

Japanese carbide chisels are the best, period. there is a carbide chisel made by Trow & Holden in Vermont USA but I find it much too soft. The advantage with the softer tip, though, is that it won't break as easily.

Japanese carbide chisels need to be sharpened with an almost surgical precision or they will instantly break and become worthless. Sharpening these tools requires a specific type of wheel, and temper is critical.

This is just the first of many challenges you will face when you work with granite.

Granite is a tough material, both in the physical sense and the profitability sense. I have seen granite fatally shame many men. alcoholism is an especially big problem among the persons I knew.

These men took a very wrongheaded approach to it, I think. They sought to use the granite to exalt their fragile egos, and their art showed it.

Here is what I think: You can’t carve granite for real until you give up your addiction to Measurable Results. Granite will patiently keep slapping you in the head until you figure out how to see That Which is Invisible to Almost All Humans: slow change.

To see life--and time--through the eyes of granite is to learn the exquisite math that is pattern recognition.

Very good luck to you with this!

Sincerely,
Suzy Nees