Page 39 - Zimbabwe Stone Sculpure 1st Edition
P. 39
ThE SCULPTURES
MOST ARTISTS WORK FROM OUTDOOR STUDIOS
The artists will tell you that finding, selecting and transporting the stone are the most difficult and expensive parts of creating a sculpture. There are many different sources but popular mines are located at Tengenenge, Chiweshe, Guruve and Nyanga. The extraction is fairly primitive, with young men hacking away in the hot sun at rock faces to pull out large chunks of stone that are then lifted out by fairly crude chain cranes. If dynamite was used the stone would be rendered unsuitable for sculpting. The sculptors usually travel to the mines themselves to choose the stone they want because they can check for natural cracks or weaknesses that they want to avoid. They also can choose stones with shapes and colour they want to exploit.
37
