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Living Stones Carvings
Lise Olson
North Battleford, Saskatchewan
I have always enjoyed expressing myself artistically in a 3-D medium. While working at a local school, I was able to participate in soapstone carving lessons given by world renown First Nations artist, Darwin Atchynum. Although I was both inexperienced and unsure of the medium, I tried to read the stone and find the image locked within it. I studied my first stone carefully, and I noticed the image of a young lady with her head resting on her knees. I was able to express that vision in my first carving, and this experience launched the beginning of an exciting venture in art and expression.
I’ve learned that the images are present in the stone, and I need to use hand tools with skill to express the “inner voice.” Soapstone has many possibilities for one to be creative and I find this exhilarating. I use different techniques and textures to see how far the stone will let me push before it pushes back.
Before carving, I spend time looking at all the different possibilities or attributes the stone may present. I also ask the Lord to reveal what he would like that carving to be. Usually I am afforded a small glimpse of a subject and I will begin at that point, finish that area and have the next stage revealed until the entire carving is complete. A flaw in the stone causes initial difficulty, but patience and faith often reveal a different outcome with greater strengths than originally imagined. Intricacy and elaborate details are an integral feature of my carvings.
I am currently working on abstract carvings. I am experimenting with smoothness, contrast, complexity and simplicity. I am challenged to express my voice simply using often complex impressions and designs in the stone. Carving fills me with a sense of expectancy, an enthusiasm to see the finished product.
It is my hope that when others view my carvings they too can feel an exhilaration and affection for a sculpture that has moved them. This experience is to have a complete appreciation for the art of soapstone carving.
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