Blog
Elementum Journal
In the workshop – shaping and sculpting words for Elementum. Elementum is a beautiful and special journal of nature and story. You’ll remember my discovering it recently here. The founder and editor Jay Armstrong invited me to write a short piece for the journal’s online Nature Journals. What a wholeheartedly joyous experience, working with […]
Heads or Tails
In the workshop today I’m working both – putting detail into beak and bottom! I’m aiming to carve out the feather shapes in particular, a little on the wings, but especially on this bird’s rather elongated tail – the rump feathers are called rectrices. The primary role of these feathers is to assist with […]
Spring Stone Carving Course
Over the weekend I was busy running my Spring Stone Carving Course here in Lastingham, North Yorkshire. I could talk lots about my excitement in watching the sculptures emerge, and everyone becoming easy and confident with the chisels, about how creative, disciplined and hard-working they were – but instead I’m going to let the […]
Dappled stone
Sunlight is filtering through the leaves and flower buds of my apple tree onto my stone as I work. We’re caught in a hypnotizing play of mottled light and dancing soft shadow. I’m spellbound by the shifting shapes spotting the stone, mingling, pattern-forming and wish I could carve quickly enough to capture their outlines. […]
Owl Sculpture – finishing touches
Following Guiding Lines to Help me on my Way and Owl Sculpture – Carving Progress I’m now getting to the stage of finishing the sculpture. This means being steady with the chisel, and precise. I’m also finishing the surface of the stone smooth, cleaning up all the curves and carving away any lumps and […]
The Display of the Pied Wagtail
The other evening I sat in the sunshine after shutting up the workshop, gazing, thinking about nothing at all really – mellowing. Suddenly I was aware of a loud, musical twittering and just yards from my feet were a pair of high-spirited Pied Wagtails. They commenced the most spectacular display, something I’ve never seen […]
Easter Sunday morning
Woke exceptionally early (too much chocolate the night before?!) and was met by a frost. Anxiously did my round of checks at the workshop, new seedlings, just planted out sweet-peas, my re-located Good-King-Henry plant, tender parsley, my tiny Oak – all okay! Collected the goose eggs, and hadn’t at all needed to decorate any, […]
Pretty Easter Blossom
The hedgerows are filled with pretty Blackthorn blossom and the tiny fragrant flowers covering my gooseberry bushes are throng with the contstant buzz of visiting bees. I’ve hung some decorated eggs from a sprig dotted with the white, spring-fresh flowers to toast the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Happy Easter
Owl Sculpture – carving progress
My owl sculpture is beginning to take shape – from the initial drawing on the stone I carved out the rough shape and it is now ready to have some detail and refining. It is when the owl’s real character will emerge and when I make sense of the irregular surface, carve in the […]
North Yorkshire Open Studios 2017 Brochure
We’re just eight weeks away from the start of North Yorkshire Open Studios 2017. (That’s come round quickly!) On Wednesday I went to a meeting at the Milton Rooms, in Malton held by the NYOS17 organisers to collect the printed publicity material, brochures, posters, signage and to get all the information about the […]