Rough Around The Edge / Web Page / COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE by Martin Cooney / For Sale

Posted on August 27, 2025February 28, 2026 by Martin Cooney, Stone Sculptor

COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY

Rough Around The Edge / $3,900 / The Liberty Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

16 x 15 x 13 / 35 lbs / SN250801

Currently Displayed at The Martin Cooney STONEWORKS

121 Liberty Street, Council Grove, Kansas 66846

Please email martincooneysculptor@gmail.com for purchase information

A marble sculpture titled 'Rough Around The Edge' featuring smooth, organic curves, showcasing the translucent quality of Colorado Yule marble.

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Please click on a photo to expand.

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Direct Method Sculpting has literally shaped The Collection Series since the very beginning. Although at the time, back in September of 2011 when I first drilled and split The Maiden Slab, I had no prescribed idea to that effect – it was simply a case of breaking up an enormous slab of Colorado Yule Marble that had sat in my stone yard for two full years. And with winter in the Rocky Mountains just around the corner, it was simply a case of dealing with it before it literally froze into the ground so hard that it would be April before I would be able to rescue it.

Autumn, 2011, Woody Creek, Colorado.

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Spring, 2025, Council Grove, Kansas

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But here I am now in Kansas, with no such considerations and seventy-six Collection Series carvings under my belt. Yet still, The Direct Method of Carving is my chosen technique for carving marble. Why? Because it opens the door to so many tantalizing opportunities that in all honesty I would struggle to induce from the confines of my own imagination.

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And so it was that, when I looked upon the rough block containing ‘Rough Around The Edge’, the usual debate raged in my head regarding just what to do with it. As always, the possibilities presented themselves in their usual manner; I could carve it into a shallow bowl – one of my favored directions to take the piece; I could carve a motif, design or relief into its beautiful whiter-than-white marble (as I recently did with ‘Marble Vista); or I could invert the bowl vertically and expose the phenomenal light absorbing translucence to make it an inherent feature of this, the tenth Liberty Collection, and seventy-sixth Collection Series Marble Sculpture. And once my imagination caught up with The Direct Method’s timely prompt, there was never a doubt about the outcome. So, an inverted bowl it was to be!

Sculpture 'Rough Around The Edge' made of polished Colorado Yule Marble, featuring a smooth, curved interior and a rough, textured exterior, displayed on a wooden table.

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A white marble sculpture titled 'Rough Around The Edge', showcasing a smooth, curved bowl shape with rough, natural edges, displayed on a wooden surface.

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As a matter of fact, ‘Rough Around The Edge’ isn’t the first bowl to be inverted in such a manner – ‘Mystique Masque’ takes that honor. But these two carvings do serve to illustrate the extreme contrasts presented by Direct Method Carving. With Mystique, I split her from a larger block, and when carving the other side, as it were, I immediately took note of its superb carving properties.

This time around, no such grandiose notions materialized; this was to be a simple, almost humble carving devoid of all such ambition and artistic statement. It was to occupy that understated element within The Collection Series that aims to make a statement by making no statement at all, if you see what I mean. There are sculptures that command attention – stare back at you (quite literally at times). Then, there are those that, by their size or design, simply demand further inspection. Also, there are those, like ‘Rough Around The Edge’ that simply choose to slip into your life without making a ripple.

Please click on a photo to enlarge.

Place her in the window and she will positively glow. Her mood will shift with every change of light. Light a candle behind her and she will dance and flicker to her heart’s content.

And don’t forget, inverted she may be, but that shallow bowl she contains will nonetheless hold a votive candle; or a papaya, your favorite seashells; a gathering of acorns; it’s up to you.

Adorn her however you wish, I know she will enjoy the attention. Pick her up and move her around – often. Take her to work – why not? Enjoy her, she’s all yours.

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And a final thought before you go: You see the split face that lends ‘Rough Around the Edges’ her name? Well, this is an effect that can only be created by The Direct Method of Carving that I so eagerly adhere to. That’s right, no amount of chiseling or any other method of working the marble will produce this glorious, intriguing and sparkling surface. It may only be achieved by drilling and splitting the stone. Period. And so that is why it is so rare and so valued by astute admirers and collectors of this truly marvelous semi-precious stone.

When exposed to direct light, the entire surface glistens as if millions of tiny diamonds had been released into the marble simply for our entertainment and appreciation. Unfortunately, it isn’t really an effect that humble photographers, as myself, are capable of capturing, even remotely well. And this goes for The Collection Series in general – the polished surface, for instance, is so blissfully smooth to the touch that it always evokes an inevitable “ooh” and “ahh” as people explore the surface with their fingertips – as hopefully, one day, you will too.

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