Blog
In the Workshop today – ferns
After carving Gold Leaf I’ve had many requests to carve similar pieces, with a variety of leaves, sprigs, flora and fauna. This one delicately describes the unfurling of fern fronds. Here I’m drawing onto the stone in preparation for carving, trying to get the very specific way ferns hold themselves to fit onto the […]
Hare Sculpture
Showing some of the stages of carving my Hare sculpture in Portland Limestone. The shape is roughed out and I’m just drawing lines to refine the outline and details in the head. A Hare is so lithe and wild that in this stylised sculpture I have to get the flow and balance perfect, to […]
Botanical Sculpture – pod series
There’s nothing more I like than polishing a sculpture once all the surface sanding and preparation has been done. It is the moment when the colours and richness of the stone are revealed to surprise and astonish. For this pod I selected a serpentine stone, knowing it was green, but ultimately its true colours, […]
Plant Shapes
My foray into the extraordinary detail and beauty of plant shapes and seeds in particular continues – what remarkable tiny and exotic representations of nature they are. From the pod stem swells a bursting body, with lip, a curved edge as opening out of which the seed will disperse. This simple single pod, holding […]
The Beauty of Form in Nature
One of my favourite books is Nature as Designer – A Botanical Art Study by Bertel Bager. I have stared countless times at the astonishing photographs in the book and always thought how sculptural the fruits, flowers, seeds and cones appear. Each photograph is accompanied by a write-up about the plant in question, with fascinating […]
Handmade Oxford
Handmade Oxford – the International Contemporary Arts Festival is my next exhibition. Preparations, and putting finishing touches to pieces are keeping me busy here and I’m very much looking forward to showing my new sculpture. The Festival is being held at Waterperry Gardens from the 27th to 30th June 2019 10 am – 6 […]
A Plain and Simple Stone Birdbath
How gorgeous it is to let the natural textures and colouring of this Yorkstone be the guide for the styling of this simple stone birdbath. I think it lends a homely, rustic feel with just enough chiselling to hollow out a bowl from which the birds can drink and bathe. A natural, understated feature […]
None-so-pretty
I absolutely love Saxifraga at this time of year (actually at any time of year!) – this one is urbium or commonly known as London Pride or None-so-pretty. It has to be adored for its mat-forming habit, with those full rosettes of simple lobed leaves and starry flowers on long leafless stems. Just now […]
Trefurl sculpture
I’ve called this piece Trefurl – actually it is a made up word which sprang to mind as a small deviation from ‘trefoil’. The Trefoil is a small European plant of the pea family with yellow flowers and three lobed, clover-like leaves. The word Trefoil has also come to mean an ornamental feathering […]
Owlet Sculpture
The Barn Owlets I watched last year left a huge impression, and continue to influence my sculpture. When finding somewhere to roost Barn Owls favour dilapidated, or near derelict buildings. Perhaps this is because they are usually uninhabited and undisturbed. They have favourite places to perch too, returning to the same spot on the […]