Many artists have used pencils to create works of art – but Dalton Ghetti creates miniature masterpieces on the tips of pencils
Dalton, who works as a carpenter, has been making his tiny graphite works for about 25 years. A sculpture of Elvis Presley wearing shades, carved from a single pencil.
The 49 year old said: “At school I would carve a friend’s name into the wood of a pencil and then give it to them as a present. Later, when I got into sculpture, I would make these huge pieces from things like wood, but decided I wanted to challenge myself by trying to make things as small as possible. I experimented sculpting with different materials, such as chalk, but one day I had an eureka moment and decided to carve into the graphite of a pencil”
A tiny saw, using both the wood and graphite of a single pencil
Dalton uses three basic tools to make his incredible creations – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He even refuses to use a magnifying glass and has never sold any of his work, only given it away to friends. He said: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”
The longest Dalton has spent on one piece was two and half years on a pencil with interlinking chains. A standard figure will take several months. He said: “The interlinking chains took the most effort and I was really pleased with it because it’s so intricate people think it must be two pencils”
When Dalton, from Connecticut, USA, first started he would become frustrated when a piece would break before being finished after he had spent months working on it. He said: “It would drive me mad when I would be just a bit too heavy handed and the pencil’s tip would break. I would get very nervous sometimes, particularly when the piece was almost finished, and then I would make a mistake. I decided to change the way I thought about the work – when I started a new piece my attitude would be ‘well this will break eventually but let’s see how far I get. It helped me break fewer pencils, and although I still do break them, it’s not as often”
Dalton, who is originally from Brazil, has a box full of more than 100 sculptures that have broken while working on them that he affectionately calls ‘the cemetery collection’. He said: “I have quite a few broken pieces so I decided to glue them on pins and into styrofoam for a display case. People might think it’s weird I keep them but they’re still interesting. I worked on them for months so they might be dead now but at one point I gave them life”
“I don’t make any money from it but that’s not what it’s about for me. However, I would love for a gallery owner in England to fly me over to put on a show,” he said
Dalton hollowed out the centre of the wood, then carved the central column of graphite to create this hanging, linked heart
Carved from the graphite in a normal pencil: A tiny hammer
Carved from the graphite in a normal pencil: A tiny button
This carving shows a goblet being held by a hand, all carved from one pencil’s graphite
Carved from the graphite in a normal pencil: A highly-detailed boot
A miniature graphite chair
Using the eraser end of a pencil, Dalton created a tiny cross sculpture from the internal graphite
A mini mailbox on a post
An intricately-detailed screw, carved in one piece from a pencil’s graphite






























Pingback: Tweets that mention Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti -- Topsy.com
Pingback: Tweets that mention Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti -- Topsy.com
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti | All Mint No Hole
Pingback: Bleistift-Skulpturen | hawaiihemden-rocken.de
Pingback: This artist sculpts…on the tip of pencil lead! « Gadgetsteria
Pingback: Esculturas en la punta de un lápiz
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti’s Pencil Tip Sculptures | CoolThings.com | Anything and Everything Cool
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti nous fait retourner en enfance avec ses sculptures de crayons « Le Blog de Groupon France
Pingback: Trust me you want to see this! « i.amkenneth
Pingback: That's Relativity
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti [Eng]
Pingback: Esculturas en las mina de un lápiz » Pixfans
Pingback: Esculturas en la mina de un lápiz
Pingback: Pencil Sculptures — The BwLOG — The blog for Betley Whitehorne, a leading Channel Island Advertising, Design, Web and Branding Agency
Pingback: Présentation : Les sculptures de crayon de Dalton Ghetti « Design Spartan
Pingback: Mini Pencil Art by Dalton Ghetti « Beautiful Disaster Arts
Pingback: Dalton GHETTI : de la sculpture sur des crayons de papier
Pingback: Graphite « Le blog reBOOSTer
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti i la microescultura « Fessols&naps
Pingback: Esculturas en la mina de un lapiz | Gabriel Gil
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti y sus miniesculturas en lápices | Noticias ID
Pingback: Links: Unconventional Art, Private Browsing, Scott Pilgrim | K-Squared Ramblings
Pingback: Now This is Interesting — Aug. 17, 2010 « Now this is interesting
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti’s Amazing Pencil Art | Gear Diary
Pingback: Totally random picture thread - Page 88 - SLUniverse Forums
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti ‘s Pencil Sculptures | P21chong's Blog
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti |
Pingback: Mario Piperni dot Com » Blog Archive » Pencil Art | Sewing Suppliers
Pingback: Now this is interesting
Pingback: The Roundup
Pingback: Restored Style | Meet Dalton Ghetti | Bungalow Decor & Restoration
Pingback: Links for the week of August 23, 2010 | noahdj.ca
Pingback: Graphite Love
Pingback: ¡Bombardeo de post! « Sonofsancho's Blog
Pingback: Things I am Enjoying Right Now | From the Top of the World
Pingback: another something something… | Nic_Maude's Blog
Pingback: Fun things to try in between aftershocks « Trolleyed
Pingback: The art of the pencil « Phil Ebersole's Blog
Pingback: HK
Pingback: EXPLOIT – Sculpteur miniature: est-ce possible? | La Minute Présente
Pingback: De l’usage du crayon #15
Pingback: J.R. Briggs » [15] links that will change your life » Attempting to behold the miracle long enough without falling asleep
Pingback: Linger » Blog Archive » Pencil Tip Art (Holy Crap!)
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti | this is a what
Pingback: Pencils « Mrs. Hardy's Blog
Pingback: PENCILS | Hudson Armstrong Design
Pingback: Tiny Sculptures Made From The Graphite From Pencils | A Cool Link
Pingback: kirabug’s idea files » Blog Archive » Elections, Muppets, Hospices, Accents, and More – a link dump.
Pingback: Links: October 14 — Davinia Hamilton
Pingback: check out this artist!!! - Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists
Pingback: Miniature Art On The Pencils Tips By Dalton Ghetti « TheDolt's Blog
Pingback: Ceruza szobrászat | 10órai - tízórai
Pingback: P.I.S.S.D. -- Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers: Friday Fun
Pingback: Inspirational Artist Dalton Ghetti | a personal landscape
Pingback: Kunst mit Bleistiften « Daniel Bachmann – Mein Blogg
Pingback: Jennifer Maestre and Dalton Ghetti Are Penciled In | All That Is Interesting
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti | refrigerium
Pingback: Pencil Tip Art « Kim's Blog
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti Miniature Pencil Sculture « Happy Seeky
Pingback: Links for week 3 | HyPeRTeXT
Pingback: marc holemans» Blog Archive » Miniature Art
Pingback: Cool Outfit: Detailarbeit | Anziehendes in Blogbuchstaben
Pingback: Fine art van Dalton Ghetti
Pingback: Bleistift-Artworks | Fashion-Insider
Pingback: Patient artists
Pingback: Erase una vez… los lápices de Dalton Ghetti « mundos extraños
Pingback: Miniature Art | InnerPacific
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti | OMG WTF LOL
Pingback: miniature pencil tip art | sue du jour
Pingback: Escultura no lápis / Sculpture on pencil | Blog da Tartaruga Feliz
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti | BeastlyBird's Blog
Pingback: procrastination is easy |
Pingback: Sander's blog » Blog Archive » Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti : Pencil Sculpture - iSawthisImage | iSawthisImage
Pingback: Miniature Pencil Art. « First We Read, Then We Write.
Pingback: The most amazing thing you will see today - guaranteed! - MBClub UK
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of a Pencil
Pingback: I <3 Artists « Turtles+Rhinos
Pingback: Really Small Sculptures On Pencil Tips
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti « Boris S. S.' [t] Post
Pingback: Now thats thinking with your ‘lead’… « RichTea Designs
Pingback: Sharp miniature sculptures | nosubject
Pingback: lead sculptures | penny rounds
Pingback: #2 Pencil – Honestly WTF
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti « Voltaireno6's Blog
Pingback: Passionately Live Your Life « miss mich
Pingback: Incredible pencil tip carvings! - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti. « :: Dulce de susuwatari. ::
Pingback: Pencil Art « I Do Windows
Pingback: Cerebration » Blog Archive » Sunday Sundries
Pingback: I Art You: The Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti | Accidental Bear
Pingback: Pencil Art | Shan-Axe
Pingback: Caught my Eye This Week | Life.Vision.Style
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti's Pencil Sculpture | Mole Empire
Pingback: Guess What This Is - Page 387 - Nordinho.net Community
Pingback: Repurposing School Supplies « Salvaged Grace
Pingback: School Supply - Repurposing School Supplies - Sale
Pingback: Dalton Ghetti Miniature Pencil Tip Art | kero.i.am
Pingback: Friday’s Love It Or Leave It List « What Party?
Pingback: 10 Extraordinary Art Sites :: Gaia Gallery
Pingback: Pencil Tip Sculptures by Dalton Ghetti « XTREME REPORT
Pingback: A Writer’s Dream By A Carver | CBrajkovich Ramblings
Pingback: Tiny Sculptures You Can Write With « Now I Know Archives
Pingback: Look What I Found! - The Style Umbrella
Pingback: Pencil Art II - Super Art
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti « me, my family & stuff
Pingback: HoshiGirl.com: Random Ramblings of a StarGirl* » art on a pencil.
Pingback: 鉛筆の先で彫刻を生み出す魔術師!! まじやばいこれ! | ザ・ゴイスー
Pingback: Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti | i love myles [beta]
Pingback: aesthetics of joy » Blog Archive » Joyspotting 2: little, simple, wonderful