Lots of artists use pencils for art. Dalton Ghetti, however, applies them in a whole different way, sculpting the graphite tips to build his miniature masterpieces.
A carpenter by trade, Ghetti has been doing the graphite sculptures as a hobby for over 25 years. He started out carving names on the wooden bodies of pencils, then moved on to building sculptures from large pieces of wood. Realizing he preferred to chisel less-imposing creations, he experimented on a variety of smaller materials, such as chalk, before eventually settling on his choice medium.
The pieces produced vary in design, although they’re primarily common objects, such as carpentry tools and furniture. Notable ones include an Elvis bust, the entire English alphabet (one letter on each pencil) and a highly-detailed hand saw.
Three basic tools are employed to forge the creations: a razor blade, a sewing needle and a sculpting knife. The blade and sculpting knife scratches and carves, while the sewing needle punches holes into the graphite. He doesn’t use a magnifying glass, preferring to only work on as much detail as his naked eye can manage.
A standard graphite sculpture takes the Connecticut-based artist several months to finish. The most difficult piece he has done, a pencil with inter-linking chains, took two and half years to create. Dalton doesn’t sell any of his pieces, preferring to give some as gifts to friends and keeping the rest as his personal collection. A box of around 100 failed sculptures (he ended up breaking the pencils), which he calls the “cemetery collection,” is also in his possession.
You can see more photos of Dalton Ghetti’s work from the link below.
[via Odd Stuff Magazine]