Mexican Stone Carving Instructions

Aztec stone carvings depicted religious worship in human or animal form.

According to Met Museum, Mexican or Aztec stone sculpting is a tradition that is over 2000 years old. The images carved into the stone tended to center around the themes of divinity and religious figures portrayed in ceremonial postures. Goddesses were depicted on their knees, while gods were depicted in a sitting posture, with their knees drawn up in front of their chests, with faces captured in contemplative gazes. Animal features such as claws, fangs, and headdresses were sometimes added as symbols of the object of worship. These same qualities and aspects can be made in stone carvings today.

Things You'll Need

• Aztec art reference books, images of Aztec gods and goddesses, the Aztec calendar and Aztec symbols
• 3-foot-by-1-foot piece of alabaster stone
• Paper and pencil
• Flat (a tool for carving the design outline into the stone)
• Tungsten-tipped claw
• Mallet and hammer
• Flint
• Masonry brush
• Goggles

Instructions

1. Draw the design that you want to carve onto a piece of paper first. Keep it fairly simple; trace key outlines. You can add intricate detail later when you are actually carving the stone. To find Mexican designs, refer to books of Aztec art and sculpture. Study traditional depictions of human-animal Aztec gods and goddesses to create your own designs. It's best to work with more common depictions of these figures first, while you get a feel for how to carve stone in the style of Mexican art.

2. Carve the design onto the stone using the flat. Then begin using the tungsten-tipped claw and the hammer or mallet to knock away superfluous sections of the stone. Work gradually around the outlines of the design to imprint the basic form into the face of the stone. Trace the lines and curves that make up, for instance, the face, the torso, hands, and knees if your final image is humanoid. Trace the posture of the figure so that when you have finished, you have, as an example, a basic outline of a god in the pose of "hands clasped around knees" or a goddess in a kneeling posture.

3. Use the claw as a chisel to chip away at the stone, setting the image deeper into its surface. Soften or round the edges and corners. Pick out the details of the design, particularly the face, and add further detail to the figure using the flint or the claw. These tools allow you to carve intricate designs and small details. Brush away dust, stone chips and fine powder.

4. Using the same tools and techniques for picking out finer details, begin to add symbols from the Aztec calendar, or other animal symbols such as the Quetzalcoatl (a serpent with feathers). Along with the depictions of Aztec deities, these symbols are signatures of Mexican art and will give your sculpture the atmosphere and character of the tradition it is influenced by.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear protective goggles over your eyes to protect them from flying stone chips.

References

• Net Museum: Aztec Stone Sculpture
• The Sculpture Studio: Stone Types
• Mexicolore: Aztecs