carve beautiful objects in soapstone

Somehow in my memory, the block became huge, but it’s actually not very big at all. Strange. :)

Looking at the size, shape, and color of the block, I’ve decided to make a water dragon.

The overall inspiration is Haku from Spirited Away:

The body will be curved and arched. (As portrayed in pictures that unfortunately won’t display properly.)

And the base will be in ocean waves, like this Babylonian Naga:

I got a kit with soapstone, file, sandpaper, and a mask. The stone is a pretty, very light blue-green, almost icy looking. It’s soft enough that I can carve it with the file.

The block is much larger than I had anticipated, though. I might get a hacksaw and cut it in half.

Still not sure what to do with it. The color makes me think of arctic ocean waters, so I’m thinking something marine and cold. Maybe a mermaid-y Sedna, but I can’t envision it. I don’t know.

... polar bears, I think they were out of alabaster, not sure. It occurs to me this hobby might actually have a practical application – making unique gifts!

The projects I want to do most are (1) samurai cats (2) yogi cats; (3) a Lewis chess set (http://tinyurl.com/rkx65), especially

this little guy, who I fell in love with at the museum there.

This is one of my easier goals! Why am I stuck?

... so it can’t be too terribly difficult. We did it as part of MACOS (Man: A Course of Study), a year-long module about the Arctic ecosystem. Anybody else done MACOS?

Anyway, I need to find a source for asbestos-free soapstone.