Pencil carvings by Dalton M. Ghetti

One of the most memorable parts of my recent visit to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore was a collection of carved pencils by Dalton M. Ghetti. Using only a razor blade and sewing needle (i.e. no magnifying glass), Ghetti creates incredibly detailed carvings out of the graphite at the end of No. 2 pencils. Some of his pieces have taken years to complete.

One of my favorites was the alphabet, a series of colorful pencil stubs lined up in a row, each with a letter of the alphabet at the end.

But most impressive might be this one, a carved chain linking the two ends of a pencil together.

Other carved objects include a boot (pictured above), a giraffe, a church, the Twin Towers, and so on. Funny enough, the museum provides magnifying glasses for viewing, though they weren't needed for the creation of the work.