In 2011, I had begun working closely with my mentor, Lorrie Goulet, for about a year. I decided to ask for her advice.
When Lorrie looked at a picture of the piece, she was as dismayed as I was that there was not enough material for a proper size head. She advised me to take the head off completely. So that’s what I did, using a point chisel around the neck where I want the head to break off. Instantly, The piece looked better to me. I discarded the maquette and, from then on, worked only with the stone, with what was in front of me. I began direct carving the piece from this point on, and have never looked back.
