STONE CARVING AND ME

 

 

 

 Several years back I took a course in stone carving from a Zimbabwe Sculptor, Colin Newengombo. Collin is from a family of famous Zimbabwean sculptors and approaches stone carving very spiritually in that the stone has a spirit and should be asked what it will be. I was carving a piece of alabaster a relatively soft stone and Collin in passing asked me "did you ask the stone" in his soft warm inquiring tone.  I responded  jokingly "I told the stone, Collin rolled his eyes and moved on.  Later while chipping away the alabaster broke rendering the sculpture scrap.  Collin returned looking wise and down his nose. "you should have asked the stone", in his soft wise tone, after that I always ask the stone.

  

 

 

  "Cattle Egret"19" x 10" x15"

 Colorado White Alabaster with bronze legs and feet

"Little  Crow"
Canadian Chlorite
10 " x 5" x 14"






"Little Crow"  I met Little Crow one Spring while carving wood in my back yard.  I was feeding the birds and squirrels peanuts when a small group of crows started hanging around in the trees around me.  I put the peanuts on the table in front of me for an old female squirrel that I had been friends for several years. She would shell the peanut in front of me watching me carve, I would talk to her while she ate and watched.  This was a daily routine so the squirrels and crows would appear while I carved.
 I would toss peanuts out a ways for the crows as they seemed to stay away at first.  I noticed one crow, a very small one compared to the others kept getting closes and closer, then she swooped down on the table grabbed a peanut and flu higher into the tree to eat the peanut, pretty soon  I noticed her standing on a limb 3 or so feet above my head.  I would talk to her and put peanuts on the limb just above me, she would side step out to the peanut take it and move to a higher limb to eat.  She would make soft crow sounds when I didn't notice her, mimicking my voice.  Later she returned with a normal crow sized baby that she fed the peanuts.  I named her Little Crow and her offspring Bubba.  That was the first year, she returned the next few springs then she didn't come back again.