Medium:  Carved plaster (from plaster “ice-cube”)

Dimensions:  1.5” x 1.5” x 1”

Price:  Not for Sale

Description:  Teaching carving, a “subtractive” use of material for sculpture (as opposed to the “additive” or “plastic” mode) is facilitated by pouring plaster into flexible ice cube trays and un-molding the small cubes the following day (still slightly moist). Easy to carve into and small enough to require constant rotating, this approach becomes almost intuitive. This Great Ape, no more than 1.5” in any direction is one of my samples. Soaking the carved figure in Linseed Oil for a few days lends it the look of alabaster or other stone. Word of caution: it is not stone, if dropped, the plaster breaks. Carving out the “negative spaces” is challenging because of the fragility