Blog
In the Workshop today – Partridges
There’s a growing bevy of partridges at the workshop – stone carved ones, and also the wild birds themselves, that seem to like to gather around my sheds. Other collective names for Partridge are bew, covey, jugging, and warren. I seem to be working in multiples, indeed in flocks, at the moment. It is […]
Mortall Gallery exhibition
At the beginning of November a brand new gallery – Mortall Gallery in Barnard Castle – opens the doors to its first exhibition. Next week I’ll be delivering sculpture for this inaugural show. I was approached a little while ago by David Hall, the gallery owner (and also an artist) about exhibiting with […]
Speciality Pumpkin
The shapes and forms of heirloom pumpkins and the speciality varieties of squashes and gourds are simply irresistible at this time of year. The fulsome lobes, furrows, ribs and bobbles an ornamental relish, and the colours such a real delight of Autumn. So seductive in fact, that I had to carve my very own […]
Glim Holder in pollen hues
October arrives and I’m really noticing the darker nights and mornings, certainly a freshness in the wind, and the leaves are turning. Without thinking really I’m making little changes too, and the other day bought some candles to add some cozy and because I can’t resist the mesmerizing calming light. The candles are slim […]
The Unspotted Crake
For this sculpture, I chose a typical Crake pose – here’s how the RSPB describes this bird. ‘Spotted Crakes tend to skulk in thick cover and walk with their body close to the ground and tail flicking. They swim with a jerky action, like that of the Moorhen. If surprised in the open […]
Playful Otter
Otters seem to love bounding about in a boisterous and playful way – this ‘play’ is usually between otter cubs. The act of play is beneficial in learning physical and social skills at a time when the mother still provides protection and food. Play-fighting is frequently seen in otter cubs, who often take it […]
Mountain Hare sculpture
The Mountain Hare lives in the Scottish Highlands and the north of England in upland areas. It is most common on heathland, where it nibbles on vegetation, grazing heather, rush, sedge, and the bark of young trees and bushes. It is also known as the White Hare, Tundra Hare, Alpine Hare, or Snow Hare […]
Exhibition at Magpie Contemporary Art
Bird tail-up is my very latest stone sculpture and one of my bird carvings on show at Magpie Contemporary Art Autumn Exhibition. The sculpture shows a bird with its tail up in the air, in a perky attitude. I’ve carved in one or two details, some marks to suggest tail feathers and also crisp […]
Made Makers Exhibition
This weekend the September edition of the Tutton and Young Made Makers online fair gets underway. Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 September 2020 The galleries open at the Tutton and Young website at 9 am on Saturday 5 September and the event runs until Sunday evening. Jon Tutton, the organiser of the event introduced […]
Curlew Sculpture
The heather on the moorland here is beginning to look magnificent, patches of vibrant purple as bushels burst into flower. The air fragrant. I followed a narrow, sheep-trodden, winding path until I was surrounded by the springy cushions of ling and cross-leaved heath. Day flying moths rose up, disturbed by my walking, silvery for […]