Blog
A showcase of carving skills at York Minster
The York Minster Stone Carving Festival 2018 is next weekend – 18th and 19th August. I’ve been thinking for ages what I might carve during the two days. The theme is ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, and months ago I decided on an insect of some sort, but have changed my mind many times […]
A vole scurries for cover
The burnished copper tones in the Owl and Oak Leaves stone roundel express themselves magically – each time I move the inlay shines, glimmers and glows a myriad of metalic pinks, gleaming reds and rich shimmering browns. It will be lovely to see the emphasis change as the scene weathers and softens, time enhanced […]
A Mole and a Mole Sculpture
A feverishly digging mole, scraping at the damp silt and shifting stones and pebbles in its path. I watched it for many moments, but it heard me and vanished down a hole in the bank. It moved surprisingly quickly. The little beck that runs down past my workshop has completely dried up. I’ve […]
In the Workshop today – damselfly
Work in progress on a Banded Demoiselle carving in sandstone. The sun shone into the workshop in slivers, landing on the stone, as if come to warm up my work. Damselflies love to bask in sunshine and can often be seen sunbathing in the early morning on a stalk, rock pile or bare […]
One day I’ll carve a goose sculpture
Just the other day a customer asked me if I had ever carved a goose sculpture and I had to reply that I hadn’t, though I really have meant to for many years. I’ve said ‘one day I will’ too often. For anyone who knows me I won’t need to explain, but I’m […]
A Sketchbook – unfettering ideas
When I saw the pencil and crayon drawings they gave me goose-bumps – these were preparatory sketches by Eric Gill, Gaudier-Brzeska and Epstein whose work was brought together in the exhibition Wild Things at the Royal Academy some years ago. Being up close to these studies felt intimate, a glimpse into the genius of […]
Tawny Owl Sculpture
The Tawny Owls here are noisy at the moment. Their calls are really quite musical, I’m hearing a number of different ‘hoots’, which is not surprising given it is their breeding season. The familiar hooting of the male has several functions – as a territorial call, a courtship call and also an announcing call […]
View with Stone
I sat on this stone – it was warm from the morning’s sun – and took in the view whilst eating lunch. An excursion to explore an old quarry site, now overgrown with saplings, bramble and wild flowers. I disturbed a deer, surprised a Tawny Owl, watched rabbits scamper and squirrels scurry. Butterflies basked […]
The Shape of the Dawn Chorus
Tomorrow I’m getting up early, really early. Before dawn in fact, as it is International Dawn Chorus Day – a worldwide celebration of nature’s early morning music. The dawn chorus occurs when songbirds sing at the start of a new day. It tends to be most noticeable in spring, when the birds […]
Spring Stone Carving Course
Over the weekend Lastingham rang with the sound of stone carvers – all busy on my Spring Stone Carving Course held in village. I know I’m repeating myself by saying how delighted and astonished I am about the ability of first time carvers, but just look at what was achieved in the allocated two […]