She discovered the art of carving pencil lead in 2015, while surfing the web. Pencil lead train carving by Cindy Chinn.Ĭindy Chinn is an artist based in Nebraska who works in a variety of media including paint, clay, assemblage, wood, metal, and most recently, pencil lead. Artist Salavat Fidai explains, “It’s like meditation and a challenge: to make a micro sculpture and not break it! It is indeed very fragile and tiny and that excites me the most.” Since the slip of a tool can destroy a nearly completed sculpture, staying focused but not overthinking is essential in order to maintain control of the material and tools. As with meditation, micro carving requires the artist to be in the moment, giving unhurried attention to his or her practice. I decided to change the way I thought about the work – when I started a new piece my attitude would be ‘well this will break eventually but let’s see how far I get.’ It helped me break fewer pencils, and although I still do break them, it’s not as often.”Ĭarving micro miniatures might seem tedious however, if you talk to the artists, they will tell you it is actually relaxing, relating it to meditation. I would get very nervous sometimes, particularly when the piece was almost finished, and then I would make a mistake. He explains the challenge, “It would drive me mad when I would be just a bit too heavy-handed and the pencil’s tip would break. Dalton Ghetti positions that mind over matter is vital when working on such a small scale. Likewise, the artist must learn how much pressure the fragile lead can withstand. Cindy Chinn will tell you that trial and error are the best teachers and that not every subject will translate into this medium. There is no doubt about it: the process of carving pencil graphite is delicate. What each artist has in great supply is patience, focus, excellent hand and eye coordination, and tenacity. Unlike the other two artists, Dalton will also use a needle. These sculptures are created using surprisingly few tools– mostly an X-Acto knife, a strong light, and occasionally a magnifier. 2 pencils to create intricate, micro-miniature sculptures, averaging around only half-an-inch high. Working independently from one another, artists Cindy Chinn, Salavat Fidai, and Dalton Ghetti each carve pencil lead, working directly on the tips of carpenter and No. On Point: Sculptures on the Tips of Lead Pencils running Februthrough Apat The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, features over thirty micro miniature sculptures, carved on the tips of lead pencils, created by artists Cindy Chinn, Salavat Fidai, and Dalton Ghetti.įeatured image above: pencil carvings by Salavat Fidai.
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