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The Process of Sculpting
in Zimbabwe
Obtaining the Stone
Zimbabwe is a very mineral-rich country due to the existence
of the Great Dyke, a 515 km long, 3 to 12 km wide, band of short,
narrow ridges and hills created geologocally through the leaking
of molten lava up to the earth's surface. Although the mineral
riches include the more commercial minerals such as platinum
and chrome, this natural phenomenon also provides a huge array
of workable stone that is ideal for the creation of sculptures.
(Please see the types
of stone used in Shona Sculpture in Zimbabwe for further
information on what stones are used by the sculptors today.)
The majority of our artists live in the urban areas of Zimbabwe where the stone is not as readily available and in most cases, StoneAge travels far out-of-town where we buy the stone from quarries and deliver it to our sculptors. These quarries can be described as rudimentary at best - In general, there is no mechanical equipment available to lift or dig out the stone and all the work is done by hand. |
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Some stone pieces require 6 to 10 people to lift them onto the back of a truck and most purchasers of the finished sculptures have no idea of the back-breaking work involved right at the beginning of the sculpting process.
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Working the Stone
Once the sculptor has obtained the raw stone he now decides what
is to become of it. StoneAge does not commission specific sculptures
but prefers to leave it up to the sculptor to decide what he wants
to carve. We will then view the finished pieces and if we like
what we see, then we buy it. The biggest threat to 'Shona Sculpture'
as an artform is the commercialisation and Westernisation of the
sculptures produced. StoneAge firmly believes in the promotion
of individual creativity if this astounding artform is to survive.
Our sculptors never draw or design any piece beforehand.
They believe that the form is already in the piece of
stone and that their task is to chip away the outer
layer to reveal the inner beauty. Their 'understanding'
process may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few
days and at the end of this process, they just start
to carve.
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The majority of sculptors do not use power tools of any
kind but rely instead on hammer, chisel, rasp and finally,
varying grades of wet and dry sandpaper. After carving the
rough shape of their creation, the sculptor then uses a
file to work the shape smoother until it's time to do the
final sanding which is done with 600-800 grit water sandpaper.
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Polishing the Sculpture
Once the piece is sanded to their satisfaction, they will then heat up the sculpture with either a wood fire or a propane blowtorch. Once the sculpture is really hot, they then apply a clear Zimbabwean wax floor polish. As the stone cools, it absorbs the wax through the surface, seals the stone and gives it a clear waterproof finish that brings out the natural colour of the stone. There is no artificial colouring used whatsoever.
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Heating the sculpture is an essential part of the process which gives the stone a beautiful shine and which brings out it's natural features and colour. Once the stone has cooled, the sculptor uses a soft-cloth to buff it to bring out the shine. |
Final Steps
Many of our sculptors are very proud to sign their
work and they do so once the sculpture has been finally
buffed as part of the polishing process. All that then
remains is to pack the sculptures and ship them to eager
customers around the world.
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