I have cut and polished and drilled and pinned my granite and marble bases for my faeries.

Working with stone can be fun, but it is much harder to cut and drill granite than marble. It’s also challenging if I am working with special stones such as the Limonite (iron ore) that I am using for one faerie, or other rocks and gems that I might use for other works.

For these bases I have made 3/16 inch solid brass pins, typically set at least a half inch into the stone, and secured the pins with JB Weld epoxy. The pins into the Limonite are set a little deeper, probably about 3/4 inch.

The twig is secured to a granite post with an inch and a half long 10/24 threaded brass bolt. There is a 3/8 inch diameter plug cast on the twig into which the bolt threads, set inside a hole drilled through the granite pillar.

These two pieces are mostly finished, except for colouring with enamel and attaching some beads or stones into the flower petals in the faerie’s hair. The next posting will show the final two sculptures.