Blog
A Loveliness of Ladybirds
As a result of the clocks going back I discover that the collective name for Ladybirds (Ladybugs, Ladybeetles) is a Loveliness. A Loveliness I’m sure I should have known this, it seems so obvious now! And perfect! I clambered up into the rafters at the workshop to alter the clock hands, back one […]
Walk with me
This is the beautiful invitation on the back of a little book I’ve just read. The book is Path – A short story about reciprocity by Louisa Thomsen Brits. I was introduced to the book by Hole and Corner – a publication celebrating creativity, craftsmanship and heritage, who had it as their book of […]
Wildlife Artists
The Society of Wildlife Artists annual exhibition The Natural Eye opens today at the Mall Galleries, running until Sunday 4th November, 2018. Over 350 works are shown – all created by artists dedicated to and inspired by wildlife. What could be better!? If you like wildlife art that is! There’s a […]
When I’m ready to riffel
When I’m ready to riffel, I go to the riffler jar. Here I keep these rather special little tools – they are narrow and elongated with a curved file surface at each end – used for filing. Riffling is a most enjoyable process (it is a lovely word too – I think comes from […]
In the Workshop today – lettercutting
It is fascinating delving into the history of a property, discovering a building’s past. It can come from a simple find in the loft, or behind a wall covering, tucked under a skirting or floorboard, which sparks further investigation or come from dedicated research into the construction and architectural history. I’ve been working on […]
Seasonal Stone
Stone flushed with Autumn colour. I’m collecting these hips, there are lots. It is a wild rose, it grew from seed (delivered by a bird, by the wind, on animal fur?) on a path leading to my stone store shed, and which makes me stoop and squeeze sideways every time I go past. It […]
Barn Owl Sculpture
Over the last few months it has been busy with Barn Owls, I’ve seen them in flight quartering the fields and returning with food for youngsters, and more recently the new-fledged owlets making their first tentative explorations of the world beyond the nest box. Though these initial flights appear rather haphazard and ungainly, (suggesting […]
Carved Stones along the River Aire
Earlier in the year I worked with Arup, (an independent firm of designers, engineers, architects, planners, consultants and technical specialists in the built environment), to create a memorial walk along the River Aire in Leeds. They had seen a stone I’d carved previously and thought that something similar, scaled up, would suit the project. […]
York Minster Stone Carving Festival 2018
I decided in the end on my original insect idea – a bee, just landed on a flower. The first day saw plenty progress the shape roughly outlined, ready for day two detailing. I thought things hadn’t gone too badly, but was reminded of the pace required when I looked round to see […]
Listening to the hedgerow
The conversation is mellow, autumnal. Expressing deep soft shades, conveying a season shifting. Saying all with ripe words heavy with fruit and seeds. I’m savouring all I hear.