Turning raw soapstone from dull to colourful in under two hours

 

The Whitecourt & District Public Library offers a large variety of different programs for children of all ages, but also provides opportunities for adults. On Saturday, September 8 a sold-out group of adults took part in a soapstone carving class. Led by library assistant Lisa Daye, the class started out with a raw piece of soapstone and slowly turned it into a smooth and shiny meditation stone.

Daye is an artist and regularly transforms larger pieces of soapstone into beautiful creations. She provided small discarded pieces from her own projects which were the perfect size for participants to work with. The pieces were dull and grey as they first started working with the various tools provided which included wet and dry sandpaper, steel wool and rasps.

Once each artist was happy with the smoothness of their piece they had to clean it with water and that was where the magic truly happened. In a matter of seconds, the stones went from dull to vibrant with different designs and colours. From greens to purples to oranges and creams, each rock was completely different than the rest and gasps could be heard as attendees pulled their rocks from the water.

Being able to take part in such a fun class and create something unique was a great experience for Candace Wedel Blinch. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I was really surprised how this worked. I’ve never filed a rock before and I thought it would be hard, but it wasn’t hard. It was really fun.” Blinch said prior to taking the class she didn’t know the library offered these types of events. “I didn’t realize they did these classes, especially since they are free, so I’ll be checking out what’s happened here more often.”

Daye said she was very happy to see the turnout with the sold-out class. “We sold out fast and they love it. This process where they are starting to see the colours come out of the stone is exciting. Everyone gets so excited as they see it change.” Called Adult Art Therapy, the once a month class features something different each time. Next month’s project is milk-jug skeletons, November’s class is fabric scrap pictures, and December is painted rock mandalas. To sign up for a free class, call the library at 780-778-2900.