Pencil Carving

Here at Inhabitat we are often impressed by innovative new applications for everyday materials, but artist Dalton Ghetti's tiny sculptures carved out of the fragile tips of pencils have truly knocked our socks off! From a miniature bust of Elvis Presley wearing shades to tiny hammers and old boots, his work is mind boggling. Check it out in our gallery below, and get ready to be amazed by this unbelievable artwork! More...

Ghetti, who is originally from Brazil, uses his little lead canvases to explore all types of subjects. The image above depicts a part of his 26 pencil letter series – one pencil tip for each letter of the alphabet.

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Getting familiar with Dalton’s technique makes the work even more interesting, as he refuses to work with a magnifying glass, and only uses three tools – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He explains his process: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”

Dalton, who has never sold any work and has only given it away to friends,

usually spends several months on each figure. The longest piece, a pencil with interlinking chains, took him two and a half years, and he said it is so intricate that people often think it is actually two pencils.

With all of that delicate detail it’s not surprising that some pieces just don’t make it to the end. For these unfortunate accidents Dalton has a box, he has cleverly named ‘the cemetery collection,’ where he keeps over 100 broken pieces.

With work this impressive, it’s hard to believe that this is the first we are hearing of Dalton Ghetti. Here at Inhabitat we are delighted that someone finally brought it to our attention, and we certainly hope that there will be more to come in the future.