Stone
Stones have been carved for millenia, from the time the Venus of Willendorf was carved 25,000 years ago to the present. From early religious intents, to classical realism and later abstract forms, man continues to use stone for artistic expression.
Ancient cultures around the world have left examples of early stone sculpture. Easter Island, Aztec figures and Egyptian busts are all exemplarary early art works. Later on, classical Greek sculpture (500 - 323 BC) and Italian Renaissance sculpture (1250 - 1530 AD) were attempts at expressing natural and realistic proportions, anatomical structure and perspective.
A variety of stones are used, each possessing unique qualities of hardness, color and manipulation. Tools include a variety of chisels, hammers, rasps and rifflers. Soapstone is a relatively soft stone that is easy for students to carve. Safety precautions should be taken with sharp tools but also due to the stone dust (see safety links below).
Thutmose; bust of Nefertiti; painted limestone; 1340 BC, 18th Dynasty
Water Deity (Chalchihuitlicue); Aztec; stone; 15th-early 16th century; "Water Deity (Chalchihuitlicue) [Mexico; Aztec]" (00.5.72) In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/00.5.72. (October 2006)
Michelangelo; Statue of David; marble; 1504
The images above are in the public domain.
Some sites about stone sculpture:
Visual Arts Cork: Marble Sculpture
The Sculpture Studio: Types of Stone
The Sculpture Studio: Stone Carving Tools
The Stone Sculptor: How To
Some sites about the history of stone sculpture:
Wikipedia: Oceanic Art
The Metropolitan Museum: Easter Island
The Metropolitan Museum: New Guinea
Wikipedia: Stone Sculpture
Caitloon: Egypt
PBS: Venus of Willendorf
Visual Arts Cork: Renaissance Sculptors
Some safety precautions with stone:
True Art: Sculpture
ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health & Safety
Some artists who worked with stone:
Experience Ancient Egypt: Ancient Egyptian Sculpture
The Metropolitan Museum: Ancient Egyptian Sculpture
The Metropolitan Museum: Aztec Sculpture
Wikipedia: Thutmose
Petra
Ancient Greece: Minoan Sculpture
The Metropolitan Museum: German Sculpture
Dieties in Stone: Hindu Sculptures from the Collections of the Asian Art Museum
Michelangelo
Donatello
Some contemporary artists who work with stone:
Northwest Stone Scuptors Association
Virginia Stone Carvers Guild
Soul Stone Sculptors
Rock Sculptors
Eino
Gerda Lattey
Tanya Preminger
Jenny Whiteside