My most memorable year as a young artist, was an apprenticeship in Pietrasanta, Italy, where I emerged into the true legacy of marble carving, seeing the sculptures of antiquity. Touching the unfinished carvings of Michelangelo, feeling the creative impulse of direct carving, changed me.

I have since then implemented this seemingly desperate and uncontrollable technique of stone carving to unleash a freedom to design and create form spontaneously into stone.

With nervous excitement, I watch my tooth-chisel cut through crystal to find the movement that I desire. The hammer and chisel under my own force creates for me an intimacy with the material, allowing me to ‘feel’ my way into the piece so that the form which is latent in the stone can come to me rather than me to it. Without first preparing preliminary drawings or a rigid, predetermined model, freedom abides so as not to inhibit any possibility of incarnate biomechanics and tensions. The stone or wood which is yet to be carved always remains a lucid exo-skeletal armature supporting an evolving vision. Furthermore, I allow the sculpture to seek its own balance both aesthetically and physically within the confines of its medium.

I am very dear to portraiture, for in this work I can explore the depth of emotion held quietly within facial expressions. It is a way for me to defeat the physical presence of stone and to work from the inside out, letting the personality of the subject express itself out of the medium whether it be clay or stone. My work must come to life, a very light touch yet subtle and firm seems to be the requisite.

Sculptor: Carl Raven