My stone sculpture is fabricated by hand using a variety of points, chisels, a special flat or round head hammer, files, rasps, and various polishing grits. I work mainly in a direct carving technique (no model). This approach allows me the freedom to “feel” the form emerge as I carve into the stone. My ideas are inspired by the original shape of the stone; occasionally a model such as a plaster or clay maquette is then used to further explore the form. This challenge of extreme concentration and the steady rhythm of hammer and chisel, allow for many long hours of deep thought, enabling me to experience a bond with the stone.
“Stones in Waiting” January, work in progress with wall journal. Assorted stones. 2023-2024.
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- Sea Form, Soapstone, 8.5 x 5.5 x 3.5 in
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- Sea Form (2nd view)
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- Wave, Soapstone, 10.5 x 10 x 4.5 in
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- Wave (2ndview)
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- The Ocean Came In-King Tide, Alabaster, 8.5 x 15.75 x 6.75 in
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- The Ocean Came In-King Tide (2nd view)
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- Sea Grass, Soapstone, 5.25 x 8.25 x 4.25 in
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- Sea Grass (2nd View)
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- A Perilous Journey, Wonderstone, marble, vines, 14.25 x 10 x 10.75 in
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- A Perilous Journey (2nd view)
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- Two Leaves on Driftwood, Soapstone, steatite, 2.5 x 8.75 x 4.5 in
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- Two Leaves on Driftwood (2nd view)
Gatherer, alabaster, work in progress in the garden. Fall 2022.
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- Protector, alabaster, wonderstone, pine needles, h: 12″ x w: 11.25″ x d: 6″
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- Protector (2nd view)
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- Gatherer, alabaster, h: 9.5″ x w: 9.5″ x d: 6″
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- Gatherer (2nd view)
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- Giver, alabaster, h: 10.25″ x w: 5.5″ x d: 4.25″
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- Giver (2nd view)
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- Birch Bowl, soapstone, h: 3.5′′ x w: 6′′x d: 4.5′′
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- Birch Bowl (2nd view)
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- The Shroud With Amber Offering, marble, wonderstone, amber nuggets, h: 8.5′′ x w: 5′′ x d: 8.5′′
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- The Shroud With Amber Offering (2nd view)
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- Gathering Bowl, alabaster, found rock, h: 2.25′′ x w: 7′′ x d: 4.25′′
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- Gatherer Bowl (2nd view)
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- Forest Fungi, wonderstone, agate, h: 2′′ x w: 7.5′′x d: 5.5′′
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- Forest Fungi (2nd view)
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- The Voyage, alabaster, soapstone, h: 7.5″ x w: 12″ x d: 9″
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- The Voyage (2nd view)
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- Shelter, wonderstone, h: 5.5” x w: 5.5” x d: 4.25”
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- Sea of Gems, alabaster, gemstoness, h: 1.5” x w: 10.75” x d: 5.5”
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- Leaf Bowl, marble, steatite, h: 4″ x w: 6.5″ x d: 6″
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- Fragment, alabaster, quartz, h: 2.5″ x w: 7.25″ x d: 5.5″
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- Resting Rock, sedimentary stone, h: 2.5″ x w: 9.5″ x d: 10.5″ (base variable)
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- Resting Rock (2nd view)
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- Tool Garden, talc, vintage pick tool h: 7.5″ x w: 22″ x d: 7.25″
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- Tool Garden (2nd view)
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- Frontal, marble h: 10.5″ x w: 12″ x d: 7″
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- Taking Flight marble, schist, h: 8.5″ x w: 13″ x d: 9″ In private collection
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- A Light Within, marble, h: 12′′ x w: 4′′ x d: 4′′
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- A Light Within (2nd view)
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- Pieces of Me #2, limestone, h: 18″ x w: 33″ x d: 6″ each block 6″
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- Pieces of Me #2 (2nd view)
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- The Family, marble, h: 12.375′′ x w: 12′′ x d: 10′′
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- The Family (2nd view)
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- Uncovered, limestone, h: 27.5″ x w: 10.25″ x d: 4″
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- Uncovered (2nd view)
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- Modified, marble, h: 16.75′′ x w: 11.25′′ x d: 6′′
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- Modified, (2nd view)
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- Silently Waiting, marble
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- Silently Waiting
Artist-in-Residence, Stone Carving, Richard Cabe Terraphilia, Salida, Colorado, Sept/Oct 2012
“Each day I was greeted by mountain views. It did not not take long for me to set up space and get to work amongst the rubber rabbitbrush, honey bees and butterflies that would be studio company over the weeks ahead. I made a work bench from wood palettes and carved away under the beautiful Salida sky. Nature truly inspired my work at Terraphilia.” My residency blog
Uncovered
Art Review: Jon Lehman, The Patriot Ledger
“White, Black and Shades of Gray,” National Exhibition South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Mass. 2002.
“The only piece of traditional sculpture is the first thing you see on entering the gallery, and it is a fitting emblem for the entire show. Uncovered, by Robin MacDonald-Foley, is a standing, trapezoidal chunk of gray limestone, broader at the top than at the base, vaguely suggesting a fragment of ancient Egyptian statuary. Two sides are scored with fine, down-slanted, parallel striations, and two are more deeply carved in a diamond-quilted pattern. The top is a smoothly modeled, sinuously sloping, curved surface, like a shoulder emerging from the stone. Like many of the works here, “Uncovered” suggests more than it reveals.” Photo Credit: Steve Gyurina.