Producing Sculpture at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Carving.—To the layman, carving is the most obvious method for producing sculpture. In a broad sense carving comprehends any means by which the sculptor can reduce a piece of material to the form desired by removing the superfluous portions. For this reason it is often called a subtractive process. In the carving of wood the sculptor will use tools similar to those used by carpenters or cabinetmakers, that is to say, saws, chisels, files, etc. Almost all kinds of wood have been used for sculpture, but generally the carver prefers evenly textured woods with little grain. Large wooden statues are made by gluing several pieces together.

These significant pti poses have generally been served by sculpture ( considerable size, and there is no doubt that largi ness promotes an effect of impressiveness i sculpture as it does in architecture. This i borne out by the observation that most sculptur which has been made merely to embellish or t delight is definitely under life-size or even of th statuette category. A notable exception to thi rule is found in fountain sculpture from the 16t! century on, where the architectural or arborea setting often requires commensurate scale in tb sculpture.

Sculpture, unlike painting, may be appreciated by touch as well as by seeing. Even if one does not actually touch it when contemplating a particular work of sculpture, the appreciation of the smoothness of surface and the modulation of one mass into another may be so strong that the mind receives the sensation of touching. This is commonly referred to as tactile quality, and oftentimes the kind of sculpture which produces a strong tactile expression is called plastic. Small works of sculpture, such as some of the Chinese jade carvings, invite one to take them in the hand.