Marble carving The last two portrait busts I made are currently being carved in marble at studios in Pietrasanta and Carrara, Italy. It’s an interesting process where I provide my sculpture (a plaster cast of it, in this case), hand it to the carvers, and they copy it exactly into marble. One for one. In some ways it’s a modern process and in some ways it’s a traditional process. Back in the day, you would have assistants in a workshop roughing out your sculpture according to your designs, then the Master comes in at the end and finishes the details by hand (Bernini often did this). Now, instead of assistants, they use a robotic carving arm, and hand finish. Same idea, new tools. Saint Hildegard von Bingen, being carved in marble
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