Haida Argillite Carvings - Collecting, Carving and Storage Techniques

Collecting, Carving and Storage Techniques

Although carvers usually prefer to collect argillite from the quarry themselves, it is not uncommon for groups of able-bodied individuals other than the carvers to make the arduous journey. These trips generally consist of a number of individuals who bring back enough argillite for carvers to carve for at least a year. The argillite collectors select the slate that appears most free of faults. A slab of up to 500-600 pounds (approximately 227-272 kilograms) is cut from the quarry using a variety of tools, including a hand saw, steel wedge, sledge hammer, shovel, crowbar, and long pole to use for leverage. The large slab is cut into smaller pieces of between 50 and 100 pounds each, and carried slowly and carefully home by the collectors.

Most carvers create a sculpture from a single piece of argillite wherever possible. However because an increase in the size of argillite increases the potential for failure in the piece due to inherent faults and stresses, larger sculptures are sometimes made from separate pieces carved and subsequently adhered. High relief is often carved by working against the grain. This technique lends stability to the fragile argillite. The drawback to this method is that it sometimes causes flaking, making carving in high relief an advanced carving technique. For a long, shallow piece, it is often better to work with the grain. Different objects require varying levels of skill in their execution. Panel pipes are considered the most difficult pieces to carve. Bowls are also challenging, with group figurines, boxes, poles and plates considered easier to do. The black finish of argillite is usually not natural. In its natural state, argillite is often a grey-black or green-black color. The jet-black finish is created by the carver rubbing the carving with the oils or polish as it is being created. The natural oils that skin produces are actually responsible for creating the deep black color argillite is known for, although it is also common to coat the argillite with a polish to recreate the jet-black color.

A high moisture content makes argillite easier to carve; therefore, it is kept as moist as possible after it is extracted from the Slatechuck quarry. It is often wrapped with damp cloth and stored somewhere moist, perhaps buried in the ground. Another method of sealing in moisture is to cover the surface of the uncarved argillite piece with Varathane. The drier the argillite becomes, the more danger there is of flaking or cracking during the carving process.