TOOLS

Carving tools are essentially the same as they were 500 years ago, just that the chisels have tungsten tips and are pneumatically driven; sanders and grinders are also air driven, with the tips coated in diamonds.

What we do not have is plenty of cheap labour and an abundance of time, the tools have o make up for it.

I still finish the surface by hand, with marble rasps and diamond coated papers; it just makes the extra bit of difference I am looking for.

OHNE ENDE KNOTEN

 I have been working on the knots for a few days now, and I have improved both on the detail as well on the speed. For the roughing out I use a traditional Cuturi pneumatic hammer, and for the detail I use diamond tipped dye-grinders.

Here in Carrara I can get any diamond tip I can imagine, and plenty of money can be spent on them….( as I always tend to do…)

The finish is always by hand, with pads and rasps, still unrivalled in its precision.

SHOW ME WHAT YOU HAVE

 I have started with the details on the first of the 4 knots, which I have previously roughed out. It is pretty detailed work and I really enjoy myself carving these pieces, one has to keep concentration though, as it is easy to loose oneself in the beginning.

But routine sets in quickly, I have figured out how to best carve them and my mind can start wandering…

Roberto, the senior artigiani at Petacci, looked at the work this evening, he gave me a pat on the back, which is a pretty good badge of honour really…

THE FUN STARTS HERE

 After weeks of rough cutting, waiting , polishing and wet clothes, finally, the sun is out, and the more interesting but also demanding work started.

I drafted the knot design on the marble, using a brush, then finalized it with templates I prepared in London. I now have to carve octagonal shapes first , which will be carved into the ropes later. 

 

I had a good couple of good days and the work is going great, the October sun is finally back, but I had to change into my “ Guantanamo gear”, as the mornings are getting chilly here in the Appenin Mountains.

STEREOTYPES AND NUNS

  Today, Sister Giovanna, Teresina and Cincia appeared at the Factory, they came with Roberto, the artigiani at Petacci, to look at his current work (he is copying Michelangelos’ Pieta) . I instantly thought, only in Italy things like this happen…

The good sisters were a bit confused about my sculpture, as they are used to see mainly figurative work.

We had a good conversation about my ideas  and I hope, they will put a good word in with him upstairs, things have not been as straight forward with this sculpture as I hoped for ...

I have been working the sculpture over with my wet polishers, a messy and uncomfortable, but highly effective method to get a great finish...

WEEKLY RANT

If you ever feel like, you need to be put back in your place, too much spring in your step in need of straightening up, try an Italian tool shop, the ones that sell the good stuff though.

I was out to get tools and equipment, and needed to stock up, so I went to a well-known ironmonger, well let’s just give it away here, it was Gianola in Avenza, Carrara.

And here is their website: http://www.gianola.it/storia.htm

I have the suspicion that this shop is either a money laundering scheme or, what is more possible, a bunch of wealthy Italian men pretending, Marie Antoinette like, to run a proper tool shop, and getting a thrill out of stocking some fine machinery, and then not selling it.

I was standing with my selected goods, happy to depart with my hard earned cash.

On the till, one guy was counting bolts and put them into cardboard boxes, which he then elaborately sealed with masking tape, occasionally giving me a glance only to return to his more important work.

Another guy was talking to some curvy blond Italian girl, and 3 senior guys hushed around in the backroom, glancing across the till and looking incredibly busy.

They also make you draw this little paper numbers one gets on meat tills, only for the number never to move past number one.

In the quarter of an hour I patiently waited, nobody was served or, good forbid, exchanged something as frivolous as money for their beautiful selection of ironmongery.

My heel squeaked as I turned to leave the shop empty-handed.

And the hose, I go it elsewhere, they were just plain rude, but it almost felt like at Fortnum and Masons…

CELLULITE

 I picked the word up when two artigianis at Petacci discussed the finishing of a polished surface, and they described the effect grinding machines have on a curved surface, (one always gets a ripple effect). The Italian carvers call this effect (rather cruelly) “cellulite”, and they said that it is a term generally used, particularly in figurative carvings , when the surface of the marble is not quite smooth, but shows ripple effects of the tools used.

As my sculpture solely exists of curved surfaces, the only way to get rid of “ cellulite” is to use a hand grinding stone, machines simply do not get to a finite level of finish, and that a very basic tool like a carborundum stone rubbed over by hand still leaves the best surface on a marble, just like 2000 years ago…

Here details of surface and tools, as well as my assistant Johannes grinding over the surface of the sculpture.

GRU (CRANE)

Today, the sculpture finally moved from the robot to the carving area, before, I had to cut off half a ton with a 9inch grinder, there were quite a few parts where the robot couldn’t reach.

In the afternoon, the vintage grua arrived, and the “well oiled Petacci team” took no time to move the work into the area, where I now carve.

To start with , I will work over the entire surface of the sculpture, and carve and sand all the parts where the robot didn’t reach. And yes, it is incredibly dusty work, but glad that, from now on, it will be me who puts hands on this sculpture.

HENRY MOORE

After a weekend of the robot cutting 24 hrs,  I came in this morning and was seriously stunned by the sheer presence of the sculpture that emerged during the weekend. It immediately reminded me of one of Henry Moore’s reclining figures, which was totally unintentional, but I looked it up and there is an obscure resemblance with his 1951 work in plaster (which I have admired in the 2010 exhibition at Tate Britain)

Although I am seriously behind schedule, I am equally thrilled about this sculpture; it shapes up to be something quite special indeed.

 

On other news, the plinth has arrived, earlier than expected, and the Bardiglio marble I have chosen is an absolute beauty, the white circle on top of the base I roughed up, it marks the small area the sculpture will balance on.

Tomorrow (Tuesday 9^th of October) I will finally be able to take the sculpture of the cutting table, and my work will begin in earnest.

DIAMONDS BABY

It has been hard going in the past few days , the engineers have tried to speed up the cutting process, which resulted in ROBOTFAILURE , the diamonds on the tip burn out, sparks fly and the whole system comes to a standstill. I had to learn that these robots are sensitive little machines, with thousand sensors and switches which need to keep pampered 24 hours.

But our Robot is in save hands, Massimiliano, who is also teaching art and robotics at the Accademia in Carrara, is programming and operating the robot; still , it is sometimes like watching paint dry.

Here Massimiliano ( to the right) , and Roberto , who is head Artigiani at Petacci,  discussing the next stages of the cutting process.

Franco Petacci has selected a beautiful block of marble, it has taken 150 million years to get here into this factory , I feel I have to treat this block with a measure of respect.

TEST, TEST , ONE TWO ONE TWO

 

While I am waiting for the robot to finish his work, I decided to carve a quick mock up sample of the knots. I have to figure out how to best (and quickly) carve them, and after a few days I think I have a better idea how to approach this.