Although sculptors in Zimbabwe have access to a wide range of modern tools and compressors, they continue to rely on traditional hand methods. Their standard tools include mallets, punches, chasing hammers, rasps and sandpaper. A sculpture can take weeks or months to complete, depending on the stone type and inspiration of the individual artist. The stone is first worked and roughly shaped with a mallet and punch. More refined detail and lines are created with chasing hammers and rasps. Final surfaces, textures and lines are generated by days of tedious hand sanding. Many sculptors apply a clear, carnuaba-based wax to enhance the stones' natural colors and highlight the striking contrast between polished and raw surfaces.
Artists quarry their stones along a 300-mile stretch of dense volcanic rock known as Zimbabwe's Great Dyke. The most common stones used are serpentines whose complex mineral configurations result in more than 200 stunning colors. Zimbabwean serpentines, like springstone and opal stone, share densities similar to hard North American marbles and are preferred by elite artists for their ability to hold fine lines and survive long overseas journeys to international museums and galleries. Zimbabwean sculpture is ideally suited for both indoor and outdoor settings. Nature's elements only enhance the stones' natural colors and intense heat, moisture and cold have little effect on stone that has already weathered the harsh elements in Africa for centuries.
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