Blog

Water Vole sculpture

  Water Vole sculpture carved in Yorkstone When not eating herbs and grasses at the water’s edge, Water Voles are digging their burrows in the soft soily banks or sniffing the air to check for intruders to their territory.          

From Anglesey, Weardale and Lastingham

  A romance of moorland colour. A mid-grey marbled stone from Anglesey, a dark peaty brown stone from Weardale, County Durham, and heather from Lastingham.  And of course made in Lastingham. Hand carved and polished marble stem vases with snips of ling from the North York Moors. A tribute to place, each with its particular […]

Swallow sculpture in progress

  Stone sculpture in progress depicting a Swallow momentarily perched.  The carving is in Cornish Soapstone and will be polished once I’ve completed the shaping, slimming and refining. A swallow pair nested here at the workshop this year, raising five youngsters and so I’m surrounded by their happy sounding chirruping as I carve.  I watched […]

Strolling where the Heather blooms

  I climbed the hill up from the village, through the gate, and took the short track  to the moorland beyond. I come up here often – Lastingham Ridge on Spaunton Moor. The walk slowed to a stroll.  Heather just coming into bloom. Faint scent of honey.  I’m thinking of ways to describe the scene, […]

Beautiful & Useful Fair 2022

  I’m enjoying curating pieces for the Beautiful & Useful Fair 2022 where I’ll be showing my work in September. Definitely included is the Catcastle Vase, hand carved in pale and intriguingly textured natural stone. Each vase in the collection is differently marked with unusual pattern and subtle colouring. The three minimal designs are all […]

Swanley Mouse

  Whilst at Swanley Grange, Fountains Abbey for the Heritage Crafts 2022 last weekend I started a sculpture as part of my stone carving demonstration.  It wasn’t finished at the time, but now back at the workshop I’ve completed Swanley Mouse. Granges were outlying monastic farms that provided food for the monks.  Swanley was one […]

Mole Sculpture

  A sculpture, straight out of the animal world, carved in Cornish Soapstone (Polyphant) depicting a Mole ready to put its huge front digging paws to use and burrow underground. The stone piece used for carving Mole has beautiful colouring, which has been fully celebrated in the refined finish and polished smooth surface. Mole sculpture […]

My Otter sculpture’s fabulous garden

  I’ve just received this stunning image from my customers, showing their Otter sculpture now in place. Otter is beautifully positioned on a stone wall topped with sandstone slabs.  The wall incorporates steps leading upward to a central flower bed and planted borders following the arc of a protectively enclosing outer wall. Otter’s gentle curves […]

Otter at Rest

  Over the past few days I’ve been putting finishing touches to my latest Otter sculpture.  It has been so hot I’ve had to rest too.  A burst of work and then stand back and cool down. Tomorrow it is being delivered to its new home and I’m very excited to see it in-situ in […]

The Corncrake by Frank Rennie

  This book – The Corncrake – An Ecology of an Enigma by Frank Rennie has come to the top of my ‘to read’ book pile. I wanted to know more about this bird, having sculpted a pair of Corncrakes, and how lucky I am that Whittles Publishing launched The Corncrake this year.  Frank Rennie […]