Blog
In the Workshop today – irresistible stone textures
I’m seduced.
It snowed, it snowed a lot!
It is still snowing! There are just four birds remaining, from my piece called Flock, carved in the purest ‘white as snow’ alabaster – now in my shop.
Oaks and Acorns
About this time last year I collected acorns, eight in total, and planted them in pots. For a number of reasons, along with natural withering and rot, I let two dry out during the summer beyond saving, and the geese nibbled three which didn’t survive, I have only two oak saplings left. They’re doing […]
Pyramid Gallery, York
This morning I delivered pieces to Pyramid Gallery in York for their Christmas Collection exhibition opening on 2nd December. It is ages since I’ve been to York, and this little narrow cobbled road (called Stonegate, which I rather like!) looks gorgeous with all its cheery, characterful, brightly lit shops. There’s a tempting glimpse of […]
Birdlets
They’re short carving days at the moment. Heavy overnight frosts take time to thaw, if at all, temperatures not getting much above freezing. Before I know it the sun is going down behind the hill at the back of the workshop and there’s no light left to work in. Today though I managed to […]
In the workshop today – chamfering
A chamfer is a symmetrical sloping surface at an edge or corner. Here it is the edge between two faces on a square column. A form of bevel is created at a 45 degree angle on adjoining right angled surfaces. There are four to do, one for each corner. In fact, this is a […]
Autumn leaf forms
Over the last week or so I’ve stopped more than once to look more closely at a bird, apparently floundering in the road, I’ve seen one on the verge too. Yesterday I saw a mouse leap up and then lie still. When I get close it is a leaf, brown birdlike, flip, rock, fall […]
Where do you get your stone from?
A question that has come up quite a few times during my recent exhibitions and shows is ‘where do you get your stone from?’ Usually I exhibit a range of sculpture, carved in different stones and so I describe the quarries, countrywide, I have visited to collect stone blocks for working. Selecting stone is […]
What a gathering of beautiful work
An appreciative flow of visitors bought, talked and admired the work on display at Masham Town Hall for the Crafted by Hand exhibition last weekend. Towards the end of each day the sun, low in the sky, illuminated my stand through the upstairs Masham Town Hall windows and gave a golden glow to my […]
Zebra Rock
Recently I had a conversation with a couple I met at one of my exhibitions about Zebra Rock – they had some and wondered if I could carve it. I hadn’t heard of the stone before, so was intrigued to find out more. A few small pieces were sent to me in the post […]