Sculpting in soapstone

A friend organised for a group of us to try out sculpture at a local centre for marble sculpting. Luckily for us, Francois Xavier suggested we start with soapstone, since it is much softer to work, and therefore easier for beginners.

We each had a few tools and a lump of soapstone, and were encouraged to make whatever shape we wanted with it. I couldn't immediately identify the final shape, but I knew I wanted to contrast the rough stone, and some areas of polished stone, so I just started at the top and moulded parts of the block, using chisels, files and lastly sandpaper. Here is the result....more of a study than a finished artwork, but I really enjoyed the process - responding to the structure of the stone, working with my hands, creating different textures, discovering the marks you can make on the stone too.