Blog
Spring 2019 Stone Carving Course
At the weekend I ran my Spring Stone Carving Course – held here at Lastingham Village Hall and this year the pear blossom was exceptional. We started on Saturday in the rain, but I don’t think anyone really noticed, all far too busy with their carvings. What a variety of carvings too – I […]
Sherborne Gallery
I’m currently just putting finishing touches to pieces for an exhibition at the Elementum Gallery in Sherborne, Dorset. A little while ago I wrote about stone and carving – In Conversation with Stone for Elementum – a journal of nature and story. Recently, due to its growing success, the journal moved to new premises, […]
Thoughts about Women’s Day
I know that the day – International Women’s Day – is really about a focal point in the movement for women’s rights, but when I think about what it might mean to me, my mind turns to women who inspire, and therefore enable – one of the most motivating, for me, is my mother […]
Inspired by Birds
All my bird sculpture is now delivered to the exhibition at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds. We all got a bit dizzy on route, as I got caught up on the ‘loop traffic’ system in the city centre, and seemed to go round and round rather than getting anywhere. We got […]
Meeting Members of Pickering Art Club
Last year an invitation came from The Vale of Pickering Art Club to give a talk at their Annual General Meeting in February, (last week) and I really enjoyed putting together a little presentation about my stone carving process for them. I got such a warm welcome and interest from the group, lots of […]
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2019
In previous years I’ve sketched the birds I’ve seen during the Big Garden Birdwatch survey. This time I thought I’d try and model them in clay instead, sculpt them directly during the hour watch. It is a wonderful challenge, requiring me to work very quickly, where normally I would be slow and meticulous to […]
Turtle Dove Conservation – Exhibition
Last year I went to a talk about the Turtle Dove Project in North Yorkshire and was really inspired by the work that was being done. At the time I really wanted to do something to help too, and began to make my surrounds a little more Turtle Dove friendly. I have wondered if […]
Symbolic Stone
There are as many reasons for buying art, collecting objects or commissioning sculpture as there are people who do it. Sometimes someone falls in love with a sculpture because it evokes a memory, other times because the shape, texture, or colour are irresistible. On occasion it is hard to put into words why a […]
An exhibition for bird lovers
In the workshop I’m busily making new work for my first exhibition of 2019 at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery in Leeds – the show is called Tweet – aptly, as all the pieces on display are works inspired by the beauty of birds. The line-up includes a range of disciplines – […]
Breaking stone – in a good way!
Mostly when I go to the quarry for a block of stone, there isn’t a piece just the size I’m looking for. This means either I compromise and make smaller than originally intended, or I get a larger block and trim off when I get back to the workshop. My aim is usually to […]