My First Video Over 300 Views and My Fastest to 100 Views

On July 29th, I posted that I had hit a milestone on my YouTube site. I had posted 30 videos and one of them was at 221 views. Since then, I have posted a few more videos and have hit another milestone on views.

My most popular video is still the video on splitting limestone with feathers and wedges. It is a time-lapse video that shows me splitting the off-fall from one of my birds for "Cor Liberum". I know many folks who post on YouTube would laugh at being happy about getting a video over the 300 mark in views, but everyone has to start somewhere. This video currently has 328 views.

The other cool thing is that my videos are increasing in views faster now than they previously had. It is partly that I have been sharing them on this blog, but there must be something more to it than that. For example, the splitting limestone video was posted on August 20, 2017. My latest video, "Carving an Indiana Limestone Vessel" was posted August 28, 2018, and has already reached 108 views. While the splitting limestone does far exceed the views of the vessel video has received almost 1/3 the views in 6 days. This one is definitely an anomaly as many of my videos have not even come close to 100 views. But the cool thing is that all of the videos are steady increasing in views. So, if you like to see the way stone is worked and carved, subscribe to my channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLZ4k8l6V2l_otGckDxxQ5A and watch my videos!

Carving a Limestone Vessel

I started carving an Indiana Limestone vessel a few months ago. However, I have been so busy with other projects that I have not been able to get back to it. The stone is a cut off from my Norton commission, "Cor Liberum". I am happy to say that the off-fall from that project has provided a steady source of stone for a while.

This piece will be similar to the piece I carved about a year ago, "Peace Lilly". I will be sanding and polishing this piece to at least 400 grit paper and then putting a sealer on it. I will also add a wax finish to the piece. It will give a rich color to the piece that is not typical of limestone. However, it is a very warm and pleasing finish for indoor pieces.

Ready to Get a Little Dizzy? Fast Motion Carving Video

I am working on a new commission. This one is an Indiana Limestone fountain that will be a similar theme as a bench this client bought from me a few years back. This is the first fountain I have done, so it will be interesting. This video shows about 6 hours of work shortened down to a little over 4 minutes. If you get motion sickness, it might give you a bit of that. I took this with a GoPro camera on my head. I think it is pretty fun to see all of the motion!

Progress Time Lapse of the Large Figure of "Cor Liberum"

Here is a short time lapse to show the progress on the large Figure of "Cor Liberum". She has lost about 7000 pounds and is finally starting to take shape.

The Making of "Dance"

"Dance" is my latest sculpture. It was carved from Indiana Limestone. This is one of the best stones to carve for outdoor sculpture. It a soft stone that will hold an edge very well. This time-lapse video covers 7 days of carving.

This video is a time-lapse video of the making of "Dance", a contemporary sculpture carved from Indiana Limestone by Mike McCarthy. This 2:30 video covers 7 days of carving.

The Making of "If The Spirit Is Willing"

This is a short (2:30) time-lapse video showing the making of my latest monumental sculpture "If The Spirit Is Willing". I didn't start the time-lapse until after 4 days of carving, but the rest of the process is captured here. You can see the change over close to 50 clips representing about 43 days of carving. They are melded into one short movie.

This is a short time lapse video of roughly 45 days of carving on this 3000 pound block of Indiana Limestone to create "If The Spirit Is Willing", my latest monumental sculpture.