The journey from ephemeral dream to a completed stone image is a long and arduous process. Artists will sometimes travel great distances searching for a particularly powerful stone spirit.

When the artist digs the stone out of the dirt, and even later when he hammers his chisel into the dull serpentine surface, he has no idea what color is hidden inside. With broken mallet and spike, the artist carefully chisels away the unwanted stone, and begins to chase the sculpture's shape.

With water, sand paper and slow circular hand-rubbing, the stone submits to the smoothing of its surface. The "firing" or heating of the stone takes place next, allowing the stone's porous veneer to expand.

While the stone is still hot, layer after layer of wax (usually carnauba plant wax) is applied. Once cooled, the waxed surfaces are hand-buffed with rags until the artwork reaches its fine, gleaming finish.