Garden
The Way Birds Drink
Today I’ve been finishing a couple of carved birds to sit on the edge of a birdbath. I’m not sure why, and it has only just occurred to me, but I’ve made them as if they are drinking, rather than bathing (I must do a pair as if in mid flapping and sploshing next […]
An Owl called Jack
Recently I delivered a commissioned owl sculpture to its new home, the most beautifully tended, flower filled garden. From the moment I arrived butterflies and bees flitted between the beds planted in creatively soft colour swathes and a wondrous mix of textures. Stone paths led me round in curves, to view points, stone paved […]
Pretty Posies
Picking fresh flowers from the garden and bringing them into the house for display is a divinely simple pleasure. Arranging little posies, single buds, or a tangle of tumbling stems brings delight, and doesn’t it give such happy satisfaction? A touch of nature right by your side, on table, shelf, bedside .. oh, just […]
Mice are Nice
I agree with Rose Fyleman in her poem I think mice are rather nice; Their tails are long, their faces small; They haven’t any chins at all. Their ears are pink, their teeth are white, They run about the house at night, They nibble things they shouldn’t touch, and, no one seems to like […]
In the Workshop today – ferns
After carving Gold Leaf I’ve had many requests to carve similar pieces, with a variety of leaves, sprigs, flora and fauna. This one delicately describes the unfurling of fern fronds. Here I’m drawing onto the stone in preparation for carving, trying to get the very specific way ferns hold themselves to fit onto the […]
Botanical Sculpture – pod series
There’s nothing more I like than polishing a sculpture once all the surface sanding and preparation has been done. It is the moment when the colours and richness of the stone are revealed to surprise and astonish. For this pod I selected a serpentine stone, knowing it was green, but ultimately its true colours, […]
Plant Shapes
My foray into the extraordinary detail and beauty of plant shapes and seeds in particular continues – what remarkable tiny and exotic representations of nature they are. From the pod stem swells a bursting body, with lip, a curved edge as opening out of which the seed will disperse. This simple single pod, holding […]
The Beauty of Form in Nature
One of my favourite books is Nature as Designer – A Botanical Art Study by Bertel Bager. I have stared countless times at the astonishing photographs in the book and always thought how sculptural the fruits, flowers, seeds and cones appear. Each photograph is accompanied by a write-up about the plant in question, with fascinating […]
A Plain and Simple Stone Birdbath
How gorgeous it is to let the natural textures and colouring of this Yorkstone be the guide for the styling of this simple stone birdbath. I think it lends a homely, rustic feel with just enough chiselling to hollow out a bowl from which the birds can drink and bathe. A natural, understated feature […]
None-so-pretty
I absolutely love Saxifraga at this time of year (actually at any time of year!) – this one is urbium or commonly known as London Pride or None-so-pretty. It has to be adored for its mat-forming habit, with those full rosettes of simple lobed leaves and starry flowers on long leafless stems. Just now […]