Re: Interesting....
Posted by Harold Ericsson on June 15, 2004 at 11:27:10:
In Reply to: Re: Interesting.... posted by Farmer Dean on June 15, 2004 at 10:03:11:
Dean,
Thanks for the information. I’ve seen artifacts carved by the Eskimos (Inuit) in soapstone and I have also seen the effigies found along the southern California coast carved by various Indian groups from soapstone (steatite, talc) found in Pot Valley (no, not that kind of pot, the kind of pot you cook in) from Catalina Island. I believe India has a tradition of carving in soapstone.
I have often wondered if any of the talc found in the talc mines of our area is suitable for carving. Does anyone know of any artifacts made from talc by the Indians of the Owens Valley/Panamint Valley/Saline Valley/Death Valley Indians? The term ‘massive talc’ sticks in my mind as meaning possibly suitable for carving, but I am not sure about that. I have also heard that if you heat the soapstone after carving it will cause it to become harder.
Let us know how your son’s project comes along and if he had any problems with the material he is carving. If he does carve something and wants to harden it by heat maybe he should experiment with an uncarved piece first.
Birdman