Möbius Noir

Behold!

The largest sculpture I have ever worked on, and it’s a math shape- a Mobius hand carved from a thousand lb. Portoro marble block.

Last summer I joined the 2023 Northwest Stone Sculptor’s Association (NWSSA) Port Orchard symposium. I found new energy in the environment, to say the least. A couple months later I attended another much shorter symposium on Whidbey Island where I met Carl Nelson- a talented, spirited, and mildly eccentric creative. We became friends and he hired me to make a statue.

A 3D printer the size of a fridge. A Canadian crane truck. 30,000 Mobii of various size and finish. You name it, it’s probably in Carl’s studio. Which means as long as I live nearby I can drive up here to make some crazy sculptures and learn every possible thing you can do with a burr.

Carl used a 3D model to print guides that we spray glued to the cuboid, so we would know where to chainsaw, of course.

Above is the appropriate sanctioned attire for such activities.

After the initial cuts, we used an angle grinder to create the form. Central details of the Mobius were defined with a foredom (basically a dremel on steroids). You don’t want to carve too deep or leave scratches. Final shaping was done with sandpaper and buffing wheels topped with diamond grit paste; both the most tedious and satisfying step out of all of them.

Before and after - Sanding and Buffing

Overall, very cool project fueled by delicious meals and spirited debates over disc choice!

Even though the rock is so pretty to start with, you have to shave off enough to bring out a glorious shape beyond all reason. This has renewed my appreciation for dramatic scale, and will be standing long after my soul leaves my body. A piece of it left behind.

Thank you for reading!

You can see Carl’s website here:

Also, check out other sculptures I made so far this year: