Aaron’s Carved Fireplace
The Raw Stone, Monterrey Black, Mexico
Aaron had already used half of it in his first unsuccessful attempt at building this fireplace. He needed a way to create a constant profile, found he couldn’t do it entirely with hand and eye.
Cutting the Profile
Note the wooden template in the foreground used to set the depth of the cut
The handwork begins with a chisel.
Note the shards in the center of the table. The sections of plastic pipe are used to back the carbide sandpaper (intended for a belt-sander) to get the right profile. The “Mexican Method” is to use your head, your patience and the love of the stone to make beautiful things with what you have at hand. They say, “We’ve done so much with so little for so long, we’re now capable of doing anything with nothing!” I admire that, and intend to write a book about it- hopefully in this lifetime.
Many hours of patient work…
…went into the fabrication of these three pieces. This is the final acid-polishing stage. It’s clear Aaron not only loves the work, but he’s pretty happy when it’s done.
