Schist in Sculpture

The granite, basalt, sandstone or schist available in any region puts limits on the level of detail and structural possibilities. Naturally, beauty is found in every setting and every region. This example shows the strength and weakness of schist. Its hardness allows precision cutting, while its mineral foliation imposes a woodlike texture that must be masked with a thick slip, the remnants of which appear under folds and in crevices. For sculptural use, schist must be fine-grained, but even then it cannot take a high polish, and it must have a low mica content to avoid its inherent tendency to split. But carefully selected stone is fit for the highest purposes both structural and devotional.