Look at the graphite(石墨) tip of your pencil. It's hard (imagine) anyone carving detailed sculptures into that tiny surface. Salavat Fidai, a Russian artist, does just that.
Fidai says the process is (extreme) hard and time-consuming. Graphite is fragile, and his sculptures are so small that they're measured in millimeters and even microns(微米). To see he's doing, he has to look through a microscope, a tool helps people do close work such as making (watch) or studying errors. Carving one sculpture can take 8 hours-or week!
When he started out, he carved giant pencils. As he became more comfortable, he switched to pencils of regular size. Sometimes he works mechanical pencils with even narrower graphite rods(笔杆).
Fidai's sculptures used to break a lot while he was working. "This rarely (happen) now," he says. "I have experience. I am calm and focused."
Fidai is always testing his limits, (try) to find easier ways to do more difficult things. His advice to you? "Experiment all the time! Look for new materials and new ways."
