Pictures: PENCIL TIP ART

PENCIL TIP ART

Many artists have used pencils to create beautiful pieces of work – but only one creates stunning masterpieces on the tip of one. Microscopic artist Dalton Ghetti spends up to two-and-a half years painstakingly crafting each handmade piece on the graphite of a pencil.

Incredible Miniscule Pencil Tip Carvings by Dalton Ghetti

The New York Times reports

"Mr. Ghetti, who owns about as many possessions as a monk, is aware how unusual his craft is. He started carving tree bark when he was a child and experimented with everything from soap to chalk before settling on graphite. It's second nature now, and for 90 percent of his work, all he needs is a sewing needle, a razor blade and a carpenter's or No. 2 pencil.

'The pencil tip is great; it's like a pure, very homogenous material,' he said. 'It cuts in the same direction, not like wood, which has a grain. But when I tell people how long it takes, that's when they don't believe it. That's what amazes people more, the patience. Because everything nowadays has to be fast, fast, fast.'"

It is really remarkable niche in the art world. There have been artists who use pencils as part of their craft, but none use the smallest and most fragile part: the pencil lead.

Dalton Ghetti
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Picture: DALTON GHETTI / SOLENT NEWS
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Picture: DALTON GHETTI / SOLENT NEWS
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Picture: DALTON GHETTI / SOLENT NEWS
Picture: DALTON GHETTI / SOLENT NEW
Picture: DALTON GHETTI / SOLENT NEWS More information about Dalton Ghetti can be found on the NY