Fine art within reach...

For those interested in the carving process, the following is a brief description of the typical process Litvinov uses to carve stone.

All of the pieces started out as slabs or randomly shaped objects. All of them looked like various shades of gray. To bring the beauty of the stone out, watch how the raw stone material transforms when subjected to several processes in the following sequence.

Once his creative muse has visited him, Litvinov marks the stone for carving using any combination of sawing, drilling or chiseling. Then, he proceeds with the carving process until the shape of the stone resembles the planned design. Although Litvinov does sometimes change the design of his sculptures radically in the middle of the process, stone tends to be much less forgiving than some other media once the carving has commenced.

In the next step Litvinov uses rasps, files and low grit sandpaper to progressively smooth out any unwanted angles. After that he uses a wet sanding process to the finest grit desirable. Most of Litvinov's work is usually sanded down to the finest grit available with wet sanding process. The next step is to seal the stone with a sealer and/or color enhancer. These products protect the stone from being marked by anything that comes into contact with it, make the stone look is if it were wet, and generally preserve the sculpture from ageing. The last step in the process is to wax the stone. Waxing gives the stone a fine, shiny, finished look.