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Marble has been the most preferred stone for carving since the time of the ancient Greeks. Marble is moderately hard to work. Marble will hold very fine detail.

The hand carved stone sculptures range in price from $5,000 to $60,000. Pricing is based on the complexity of the design and the size of the piece. Granite, sandstone and marble demand special tools to carve and shape and require many hours of work to arrive at the finished piece.

The principal stone carving tools needed by the sculptor include the point chisel, tooth chisel (rake), the flat straight chisel and a hammer, all of varying sizes and weights. Don't forget your protective goggles and gloves!

Soapstone, Alabaster, Sandstone! Soapstone, with a Mohs hardness of about 2, is an easily worked stone, commonly used by beginning students of stone carving. Alabaster and softer kinds of serpentine, all about 3 on the Mohs scale, are more durable than soapstone. Alabaster, in particular, has long been cherished for its translucence.

Soapstone is the softest of carving stones, followed by alabaster; marble and granite, are the hardest and typically carved by professionals.

As long as you don't hit the hammer on your hand, why not? Onyx is a beautiful, unique stone type that can be hand carved to form many different home decor aesthetic pieces.

Imagine Pablo Picasso working in 3D! Abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect.