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How do sculptors carve stone with pitchers, points, claw chisels, and flat chisels?
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Sculpture
Visitors viewing A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby, a sugar-coated polystyrene sculpture by Kara Walker, 2014, part of a temporary installation at the former Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York.
In the context of sculpture, stone carving is primarily performed using steel tools that function as chisels. Sculptors use a specific sequence of tools to transform a raw block into a finished form:
- Pitcher: This thick, chisel-like tool features a wide, beveled edge. Driven by a heavy iron hammer, it is used to knock off corners and angles, breaking the stone rather than cutting it.
- Points: Heavy points are used for the initial roughing out of the shape. A fine point follows, allowing the sculptor to work closer to the intended final surface. These tools are hammered at an angle, causing the stone to break away in chips of varying sizes.
- Claw chisels: These tools have toothed edges and are worked in various directions across the surface. They remove stone in granule form, effectively refining the surface shapes.
- Flat chisels: These are used for the final stages of surface carving and for cutting sharp details to achieve a finished appearance.12