This “black lace” slate is proving difficult to carve. It’s much harder than other varieties, but it’s also the most beautiful and interesting slate I’ve seen.

This piece is honed to a perfectly smooth surface but it still appears to have a texture because of all the inclusions and its metallic, varied coloring.

I probably won’t carve this too often but it’s definitely worth it for some projects.

done and done 🕉️⚒️

I’ll take some better photos tomorrow with natural light.. hard to capture, but it’s pretty stunning in person.

Four more designs I plan to carve while testing out these new varieties of slate.

Slate is an amazing stone not only because of its color variation but also the textures, from natural cleft to honed, and everything in between.

Time to get chipping.⚒️

24K Gold leaf applied

Now I wait for the adhesive to fully dry so I can remove the excess…

Nearly done.

Need to adjust the angles on some of the faces of the outer triangles to improve the 3D illusion, but I’m happy with how it’s looking.

And with this Grayson slate from Virginia. Waiting on a quote from the new supplier but if the price is good, the stone is 🤌.

It varies at different stages of the process and with different types of carvings. The best flow state is in the earlier stages when you still have a lot of stone to remove and you have more leeway for mistakes… but it’s meditative most of the time.

Free carving is kind of a weird mental experience for me.

You have to force yourself to see past all the excess stone. It almost reminds me of when I used to be overweight but didn’t realize I was overweight.

I had this idea in my head of what I looked like, just like I have an idea in my head of what the final sculpture will look like. And just like losing weight, the changes are often very gradual and you just have to keep at it until the mental image matches reality.

As much as I’m enjoying the carving process for this flame sculpture, I can’t wait until it’s done and polished to a high shine.

Orange calcite is such a beautiful stone.

Below you can see the difference after just using water to wash away the dust and reveal some of the color. Polished up will be even better.

Carving a merkaba to test out this darker slate variety. Not as easy as the green slate I shared yesterday but still carves nicely. ⚒️

Making steady progress ⚒️🔥

I still have more to hollow out in the center and more curves to refine but it’s starting to match what’s in my head..

Left corner* damnit.

The wave carving on my wall IS for sale.

However, the nostr:npub1ndketdm2qyv35nrhsxzks8kh7w7w6tll4rjp29hv0qjqkgfjsh6snmgk2v in the bottom right corner is in my PERMANENT collection.

Bitcoin art is both a reflection of the times and a rallying cry for change.

It speaks to the frustration with the status quo while embodying hope for a better future.

For hand-carved #Bitcoin artworks designed to inspire and spark conversations, visit www.vonbitcoin.com.

It’s been a fun journey. 🤝

Haha I’m happy to do it… but probably not the safest way to store your seed unless you carve it yourself..

Successful test of some slate from a new supplier. This is a green slate from Vermont. So far it carves beautifully.⚒️

I have some darker varieties to test out next that I’m even more excited about.

“The Great Wave off Nakamoto”

Hand carved in slate with 24k gold leaf accents, this piece is an expression of hope and self determination in the turbulent sea of fiat derived injustice that is all around us.

Learn more at www.vonbitcoin.com

Starting to find the final form⚒️🪨🔥

The general shape is there, but now I have to slow down a bit and hone in on the final curves. I’m aiming to thin out the stone along some of the curves and create more negative space. Less chunky fire…more elegant flame.

A celebratory steak is fleeting.

A marble sculpture celebrating the glory of Bitcoin is forever.

Learn more at www.vonbitcoin.com

🙏 It’s currently for sale… though I may decide to auction it at some point. www.vonbitcoin.com