Blog
Winter Mercatum – Haddon Hall
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the Winter Mercatum at Haddon Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire. I have a small stand showing my stone sculpture and carvings inside the hall over the long weekend of 23 – 26 November, 2023. Haddon Hall’s Mercatum Winter Market is a treasure trove of the finest […]
The gentle delicacy of Alabaster
Alabaster is a sensitive stone. It needs sculpting with care, but worth every attentive minute for its unique charm. Light floods the curves and soft edges for an enchanting natural appeal, its translucent surface absorbing and playing subtle maneuvers with it. I’ve been working on range of stem vases, each a beguiling individual. Alabaster […]
Crested Tit Bird Sculpture
Crested Tit sculpture carved in Yorkstone showing the distinctive tuft of feathers on its head. These tiny birds live in coniferous forests in northern and central Europe and are found in the pinewoods of northern Scotland. Once a pair have established themselves, nests are formed into a cup shape, built entirely by females, and […]
Chough Crow Jackdaw Jay Raven Rook and Magpie
Magpie scraperboard as preliminary drawing for my Magpie sculpture The Crow Family Book by Jane Russ, published by Graffeg is all about these wonderfully intelligent birds. Excitingly one of the illustrations included in the book, under the section Corvids in Art and Literature, is a picture of my Magpie sculpture. It feels very special […]
Pumpkins and Butterflies
What an inspiring time of year for shapes – the plant and fruit forms of Autumn are exciting. The season for Pumpkins and seed heads. Throughout history it seems artists have been inspired by the abundance of apples, pears, pumpkins, squash, corn and chestnuts – all so visually attractive. I’m reminded of the Autumn […]
Leaf Birdbath
Sculptural Leaf Birdbath complete with perched bird carved in natural stone – 34″ x 23″ x 13″ For my recent show Beautiful & Useful at Sussex Prairies Gardens I popped this Birdbath on a plinth and it created a handsome and much admired feature – especially with the wonderful backdrop of the dramatic Amaranthus […]
Beautiful & Useful Fair 2023
Vase in the purest and most luminous Alabaster – hinting at the timeless profile of the great Medici vases, but calmer, with restrained satin finish. The decoration, which can be applied with a glory of stems, buds or blooms, is entirely up to you. Part of the collection being shown at the Beautiful […]
New Wings
The young Barn Owls spend vast amounts of time preening, stretching and opening their wings to flap in mock flight. It is all about building up strength and confidence – I see them using their wings for balance while running, begging for food and for fending off over-eager siblings. They’re now very protective of […]
Owl Infants
My workshop at present is a real mess. I don’t just mean the usual dust and stone chips – it is splattered with Owlet poo and littered with their pellets. The Barn Owls nested in my new box and raised three chicks. They’ve been out of the nest for about a month now but […]
Long Bird
The other day I watched a bird fly towards the old Sycamore tree at my workshop (I was sitting under it a the time) and land on one of the thick, gnarled branches. I shuffled my position to get a better look and it then seemed to spread out and put its neck and […]