Soap Carving

Soap carving is fun - it requires only a few tools that can be easily made, is safe and easy to work with, and inexpensive. Soap carving first became nationally popular in the 1920 when the Proctor and Gamble Company sponsored soap carving/sculpting contests. The contests continued through the Great Depression and World War II, and then interest waned. The author learned through experience that demonstrating carving on wood was too slow for effective demonstrations, and began using soap. The seed for this primer was planted when the author's nine-year-old grandson invited him to demonstrate soap carving for his fourth-grade class. To avoid the purchase of expensive tools, and to keep an eye on safety, there is a chapter on making practical and safe carving tools out of popsicle sticks. The final objective is to encourage the reader to use this book as a stepping stone to pursue and develop their own artistic interests and styles.