I usually start with a square block of material. A line drawing of the imagined finished sculpture's front and side view is transferred directly to the stone. With this particular piece, a hole is drilled completely through the block, as this facilitates enlarging the hole to a larger size later.

I like to completely cut away all of the material from the front view first. Using a diamond blade in a circular saw is a fast method of quickly removing waste. A claw toothed tool is used to cut to the line. This is slow, but very exacting.

The piece starts to take form as the side view is cut away. One must be careful at this stage. Every stroke from the hammer to the claw tool leaves a bruise in the stone. These marks will show up later in the finishing process, and must be removed.

Small pieces are difficult to work. To keep them from getting away, I place the piece in a bucket of sand. Later, sand bags can be used to hold the piece in place.

The finishing stages are starting to appear. Small files, sandpaper and lots of elbow grease are needed to complete the process.