Shaping
and sculpting...
Alabaster
is a creamy-white, transparent, crystalline stone from
the region around Volterra that fascinated the ancient
Etruscans more then 2,500 years ago. It conceals a secret
inner character composed of shape, veins, colour and transparency.
Concealed in broad layers of gypsum at depths of up to
100m underground, alabaster is laboriously excavated in
egg-shaped blocks and then shaped in craftsmen's workshops.
It can be carved, sawed, filed and sculpted, making it
the perfect material for sculptures of all kinds, both
for beginners and advanced artists. Volterra has gained
a world reputation for its long tradition of expertise
in working alabaster stone. This course, held by a local
artist and sculptor, will introduce you to the beauty
of this stone as well as its handling, thus assisting
you with your own creative and artistic work.
