Eternal river

Richard Lourie

I started creating Eternal River by choosing a rock to work with.The rock that I chose is a green soapstone. I was really drawn to the color of the rock and the way the different striations in the rock were very different shades. After I chose the rock, I started exploring the natural shape of the soapstone, finding and expanding the dips and curves that were already there. The emerging path that I was carving began to resemble a river, its twists and turns flowing around the rock. The rock has a very natural flow to it that the user can explore and follow sight and touch. The rough shape of the piece was created with a Dremel rotary tool with a grinder; a diamond sander attachment was used to smooth out the surface a little; and finally, sandpaper was used to smooth it out even more. The piece should be looked at and touched by the viewer. Touching the piece allows you to follow its flow with your hand.