Nothing to do with rifles, it's just so beautiful

[TomD]

I've a multi-year history of prowling places looking for stuff to photograph. Found this beautiful Angel at an Atlanta Cemetery while there for a club match this last weekend, she dates from about 1905.

I've photoed a lot of cemetery art but this is exceptional, look at her expression, can you imagine capturing this with a chisel? From looking at the grain of the stone, you can tell that this was made from a single slab, the skill is astonishing.

 

[Larry Elliott]

How anyone can take a piece of stone and find this or David or any other form in it never fails to amaze me. Beautiful, and beautiful work!

 

[langenc]

Many of those stone workers came to the US from Italy.

They also had a very high rate of lung problems. Dust and working in unheated shops exacerbated the lung problems.

 

[Old Gunner]

Like the carver of duck decoys said, the secret is to obtain a good block of wood and cut away everything that doesn't look like a duck.

 

[langenc]

That is another way of saying-there is a duck in every block of wood. A good carver finds it-I do not.

 

[abbydad]

Yes, very sweet and innocent.