DAY SIX
The carving is going well. The relationship of the faces to each other is established. One can see remnants of previous larger faces as all parts become more refined.
“Direct Carving” has been a reaction of Twentieth century sculptors to the mechanized practices of Nineteenth century sculptors. It would be typical for a sculptor in 1880 to work only in clay, then have that work cast in the more permanent medium of plaster. This plaster would be given to an artisan to copy in marble. The exact copy in marble would be made with the aid of a pointing machine, a three dimensional pantograph. The sculptor would then sign the finished work.
Twentieth century carvers have insisted on carving directly in the stone themselves and they have intended that their works look like stone. I have been a direct carver but because I work with the figure I have used drawings and models extensively. At some point I concentrate on the marble because I always believe that the marble can and will be better than any of the models and I am not interested in slavishly copying a model.