I purchased “The Materials & Methods of Sculpture” to better understand the technical underpinnings and improve my knowledge base back in 2021.
The preface really pulled me into the book
“The true sculptor possess for their material a respect that us the result of knowledge and understanding of the substances with which they work, and that is further enhanced by the pleasure of executing the material with their own hands.”
The table of contents has eleven sections starting with “The Anatomy of Sculpture to “Other Sculptural Materials.” From “The plastic Earths” to “Stone” and “Sculpture in Stone” no medium is ignored.
In the metals section the book addresses Alloys, aluminum, antimony, brass, bronze, copper, gold, lead, iron, nickel, palladium, pewter, platinum, silver, steel, tin, wood’s metal and Zinc.
I find that this is not a sit down and read all the way through book. Rather I set aside some time to read a section and then dwell to think and see how what I read impacts me. The results have served as fuel for my creative fires and improved my vocabulary for when I need to talk about my work.
You can check this book out at Powells
https://www.powells.com/book/materials-methods-of-sculpture-9780486257426