Materials and Characteristics

The commonly used stones for stone sculpture include granite, marble, bluestone, sandstone, etc. These stones have the characteristics of being hard and resistant to weathering, making them suitable for large commemorative sculptures or long-term outdoor displays. The texture, color, and hardness of different stones vary, providing artists with a wide range of creative choices. For example, White Marble is white and crystal, easy to carve, and often used for decoration of palace buildings; Granite has a hard texture and is suitable for making foundations, step stones, etc.

Craftsmanship and Techniques

The craft techniques of stone sculpture are diverse, mainly including the following:

Round sculpture: A three-dimensional sculpture without a background that can be appreciated from all directions. Craftsmanship is known for its hollow out techniques and delicate chopping axes, with realistic images and smooth and delicate techniques.
Relief: Carving raised images on a flat surface, divided into shallow relief and high relief according to the depth of stone removal. The shallow relief has a single content and no hollow out; The content of high relief sculptures is complex and often adopts the technique of openwork carving.
Translucent carving: On the basis of relief carving, partially hollow out the back part to form a transparent or semi transparent effect. There are single-sided translucent carving and double-sided translucent carving, showcasing a rich sense of layering.
Carving (hollow carving): hollowing out the parts of the stone that do not represent the object, while retaining the parts that can represent the object. Commonly used for making decorative items such as vases and aromatherapy stands, showcasing artistic beauty through negative space.
Deep carving (line carving): Carving patterns or images in a concave form on stones, using shadows to highlight the sense of three dimensionality. Absorbing traditional Chinese painting techniques, the thickness and depth of lines reflect artistic effects.
Shadow carving: Using sharp tools to carve out micro dots of different sizes, depths, and densities on the surface of polished stone, only divided into black and white layers, to display the image. Delicate and realistic, with a unique charm.