Name: Ralph Lee Terry
Studio: Garden Geckos
Sculpture in Stone: Generally in Slate, but also in Sandstone, Granite, and Lava, in bas-relief.
Working sculptor for 10 years.

Technique for Slate is generally a carving process using high speed pneumatic pencil grinders to avoid shattering the stone as would be expected with hammer and chisel. For harder stones, I employ all the traditional tools used by sculptors for millennia plus whatever power tools may seem necessary to speed the job.
The one question most asked and the one I am least able to answer is: “How long did it take?” It takes as long as it takes.
There are pieces that require a period of study in the middle of the carving process that, in some cases, can extend the time necessary to complete a project.
Subject matter is varied and draws from a variety of sources including ancient and modern art and sculpture and designs commissioned by people wanting something unique and tailored to their specific wishes. These include, but are not limited to, interpretations of fossils, Neolithic cave drawings, Egyptian and Babylonian carvings, petroglyphs, mythical creatures and various animals and insects.