Stone carving is essentially the practice of sculpting items out of a piece of rock or stone. For many ages, it has been a popular yet difficult type of art. Sculptors began to pay attention to details over time, embellishing their stone sculptures and producing absolutely realistic masterpieces out of them.
Because of the abundance of stones, civilizations dating back to the Mesolithic period used these rocks to create some wonderful works for a variety of purposes. The Stonehenge, Moai, and certain sculptures unearthed from digging caves and past civilizations such as the Indus Valley Civilization are among the first stone works, each with their own distinct style, purpose, and qualities.
Limestone, granite, sandstone, marble, soapstone, black stone, and other regularly used rocks/stones for sculpting have their own distinct characteristics and qualities. Carving stone sculptures begins with the artist selecting a stone for his or her work. They usually then replicate their design or sculpture in another medium, such as Plaster of Paris. This makes it easier for them to replicate precise information. Some artisans, however, prefer to carve the stone directly.
The basic structure of the stone is created by chiseling out the extra or undesirable areas of the stone using a pointed chisel. Once the structure is complete, the sculptor begins to refine his work, cutting out details and bringing forth a more defined structure.