Art and the art of hand tools

It's carving season at Niris Studio. The weather is perfect and the outdoor studio waiting is for me until the days are too hot to work. When I step outside and there they are...the stone and wood pieces that become my family as I bring them to life. The figures and torsos come alive as each day of work passes. (It's a good thing I don't feel the need to carve a puppet....yikes!)

Wood and stone are very messy especially when working on large pieces. I pull out the hand tools I have been using for over twenty years and suddenly IT happens.........ahhhhhhh.......I come upon an area of the piece that is so hard it won't yield to my touch. I have to pull out a power tool. There goes the magical, artistic, quiet ringing of the hammer and chisel against stone. All sound from the CD player or wind is drowned out in a moment. The artist's studio becomes a construction site. Work becomes louder, harder, faster, messier and sometimes dangerous. On goes the gear....masks, ear and eye protection.....and don't forget to cover the hair! The hair! Leave stone dust on it long enough and it'll break that sucker off. Hey, I'm a girly girl.

Then it's over. The difficult spot softened and pliable so I may return to my beloved hand tools. Many carvers LOVE their power tools. I appreciate them. I love what they can help me accomplish. Many carvers use pneumatic tools. I respect that. I choose to use simple small power tools only when necessary. Some artists love to pound out the pieces and produce quickly. I love to nurture them along quietly like any loving relationship. Hand tools create fluidity that shows in my work.This is because there is no consistancy in each strike of the chisel when powered by hand. Power tools create the same motion repetitively and produce a machined look. Hand tools bring the piece to life and transfer energy from the artist to the piece. It is an amazing experience.

It's quiet this foggy morning at the studio. I am off to pick up my hand tools, put on my favorite music and work on my four- foot sculpture called "The Leader of the Seers". She is expecting me. We look at one another, eye to eye , as the sound of the wind blows all around us.