There are several tools that I use in the process of sculpting. Most common is the elbow and d-adze. These are tools that have been used by Native craftsmen since before european contact. Although today we use steel the general purpose of the tool is the same. Despite some purists views about steel adoption the bottom line is about being effective to create the sculpture. In large projects we use chainsaws and hoists and these are necessary to meet time contrainsts and stay within budget limitations. The skills of hand finishing is applied to the pieces often by knife or adze work in the end.

Elbow adze below and d-adze above

Last updated on September 21, 2011 by Shaun Peterson