Inuit (Eskimo) sculpture has a perception of being made out of soapstone. While that is true for earlier sculptures that were marketed, artists today use other stones to create artworks.. Certainly I do. While it was great to learn on soapstone with its softness, I’ve graduated to using harder stones such as marble and limestone.
Living in the south, I now obtain my stone from what I see in the ditches. That is, when I see nice stone when driving, I pick it up and make something out of it. You could say, I see creative opportunities in the ditches. Still, at times, I need to buy stone especially for major commissions where there is a need to ensure quality and detail. That said, my favorite stone is Carrere marble from Italy; the same stone Michaelangelo used. Its quality is unsurpassed for carving. Need I say more?
