How to Make Your Own Sandstone Artwork

I'm very sure that the people who read this article want to have a stylish home. And that is why I write all these articles, to get you one but not for the money paid by other people, as a matter of fact this one probably costs you nothing! You will need: a hand-held grinder with a special blade(although sandstone is rather soft so you might get away with the one you have). a chisel , sanding-paper and some old sharp knives perhaps.

The first thing to do is find a sand-stone quarry. This stone is used for building houses and has a very nice off-white to creamier look. It is porous and soft. So get out the phone-book and start calling. Of course a quarry has a lot of off-cuts and lose stones and in my area they keep them in a special and safe place, well away from the actual quarry. And they are for free!!! So load up that trunk of your car. Do not take pieces that have the size of your house; start a bit small this time. Also, don't think marble and Michael Angelo, you really don't want to start off with all that.

This job needs to be done outside; it will be very dusty. Do not do what I did: go outside but leave all the doors and windows open, you'll be dusting until next year.

First you'll need a drawing, and this is different from a normal painting. You'll have 4 sides to create now. My first sandstone artwork only had 1 side; I completely forgot to do the other 3 sides.So, if you are a painter don't forget this. The drawing needs some thought, because once you take stone off, it can't be glued back on again! Gone is gone.

Now get the grinder to take out the big bits. You'll get the feeling for it eventually, personally I love grinders and I can work rather precise with them now. Also; you can drill through the stone if you want.When the rough work is done, start chiseling and to get the nice smooth finish sand it all down. Of course I don't know what you are going to create, but perhaps abstract is the best way to start out.

Once you think it looks like what you had in mind (or something else entirely but still fantastic) you will need to varnish it. If you don't it will crumble and make a mess inside, and if it is for your garden it will turn green. So a couple of layers of clear varnish ,(the brush- on kind, not the spray) will keep it looking nice.
Tip: Looks stunning on a cabinet placed in front of a (no doubt self-created) painting, or outside, placed in the garden.