| For a long time I have been fascinated with pipestone. When I was about ten, I saw it in peace pipes in South Dakota, and felt a connection with it somehow. When my family visited Pipestone National Monument here in Minnesota about five or six years later, I learned of the traditions associated with it. It has been quarried and sculpted by the Plains Indians for hundreds of years. They would make pilgrimages to that sacred place, and would be allowed safe passage under a truce with enemies. There were Native American sculptors working in the visitor center, producing fine works using traditional motifs and subjects, such as a coyote, turtle, or hawk. Their peace pipes were elegant and solid. I wanted to make one for myself very much. They had a box of scraps - small chunks of stone - for sale for 50 cents each. I found one that might be large enough to craft into a pipe of my own, and was set. My mom bought several other chunks, since she too was inspired by those artisans. We bought a hacksaw and a file, and I went to work on it. I made a basic L shaped pipe, and then realized that I had no real way to complete the pipe by hollowing it out and attaching it to a wooden stem. I had some fun and used the Ryobi rotary tool that I had bought for wood carving projects to carve intricate designs in low relief all over it. It looked interesting but very untraditional and inelegant. I set it aside, but came back to it a few years later. In the meanwhile, I experimented with the stone, because I knew it had great potential. I had some experience with wood sculpture, but working in this medium neccessitated a much different approach. An approach, it turned out, that worked very well for my learning, thinking, and working styles.
I started off with some designs that I really wanted to make. I learned the basic behavior of the stone, such as how to chip, scrape, grind, file, and sand it to get it to the forms that I wanted. Later I took odd shaped pieces, tried to see an interesting form in them, and bring it out. I find it very relaxing to not try to bend the stone to my will, and to just play with it, almost like an improvisation. It is definitely not the same as improvising with a brush and ink. It allows for more contemplation. I use my problem solving skills to expand the design into every corner of the stone. I later found another way I could use problem solving skills in the construction of pendants. I had earlier made a multiple piece pendant, with a few beads surrounding the main piece. I found that I loved the sound of small pieces of pipestone clacking together. I had many small pieces of stone, so I tried laying them next to each other, switching and combining, trying to see which would fit next to each other to create a cool pendant. I think that art is a lot about seeing patterns in chaos, making sense of our world, and in this process of sculpture I am doing just that. Because I am handling the pieces constantly while carving them, as opposed to chipping a marble block with a chisel, they end up providing a very interesting tactile experience. I know a piece is done when it looks right and feels right. Another way to test my designs and explore their forms is to make impressions of them in a kneadable eraser. It helps me to see the contours of the sculpture, and get a feel for where the finger or sandpaper can reach. The sanding and polishing process is important in my works. It transforms the pieces from a uniform matte finish to a reflective finish, with highlights in unreachable places, such as etched lines or indentations. After a fruitless job search in the summer of 2002, where I ended up working on a landscaping project for my father as a way to earn a little money, I decided that I wanted to do things differently the next summer. The job market for occupations I would be searching for was still extremely tight, so I made it my goal to craft and sell pipestone pendants. I started off well, creating over a dozen pieces in the first week. When I was running low on raw materials at one point I had divided my old peace pipe attempt into small pieces, and now I turned some of them into pendants. After a trip to Pipestone, I had all the stone I needed. After the second week, I had a small collection which I was proud to show any visitors, and I sold one to a friend of the family. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make my goal of participating in the "Art on the Lake" art fair in Excelsior, because I took a summer course so that I could stay on schedule academically. I didn't make any pieces while I was in Ohio last fall, but I am starting to gear up for this season, and I'm getting really excited about it. I am continuing to find new ways to manipulate the stone and to refine my designs and processes. I continue to find satisfaction in my working with this sacred stone. I continue to thank the Earth for this wonderful gift. |