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Side by Side
The stages of carving a sculpture are always good to record – I rather like looking back at progress and seeing just how far I’ve come – something to show for my aching hands! This is a sculpture of two birds together. Initially I thought they might be a pair, each an individual carving, […]
Abundance in Red
Already my geese have scrumped all the apples from the lower branches, and are very good as a team – one pulling at the leaves and twiggy ends, the other two jumping up to reach the apples. The riper the apples get, the easier this is for them, as a knock or nudge with […]
Direct Carving in Stone
Direct carving, carving direct – ever since I picked up my first hammer and chisel I’ve been working stone in this way. I didn’t know it had a name, or that at one time it was considered revolutionary. I just took for granted it was the way sculpture came into being and was how […]
Bird with a long tail
A little while ago I showed you progress of Long-tailed bird on my workbench being carved – the finished sculpture sits next to me now looking out of the window at a rather blustery day. I’ve just been updating my website to include Long Tailed Bird, so you can see the final piece and […]
Pale Rain
I’m in the workshop and can hear the pitter patter (pour) of rain on the corrugated roof, I love the sound. Outside in the foggy wet, a spider shelters on the last sweet-pea stem.
Autumn Stone Carving Course
Lastingham was filled with the sound of chiselling over the weekend from carvers on my Autumn Stone Carving Course. Some of those attending had a little experience of working with tools and had carved before, but for others it was a totally new experience. Initially there was a little nervous hesitation, and then great […]
Hand Carved Lettering v machined
Usually it is the mass produced, machine method and tooling that seeks to emulate the skill, beauty and craftsmanship of hand carved lettering in stone. Many methods are used, sandblasting, routing, and robots with special diamond tips rotating at super-fast speeds, but I’m not sure they quite replace me and my chisel just yet, […]
Carving Dolomite Marble
This is a new stone for me. It has an amazing texture of large, rather flaky crystals which catch the light and sparkle. The crystals of dolomite have light reflecting curved faces which gleam, glint and shine with a sugary twinkle as I’m carving. They seem to behave rather erratically in response to the […]
Heard but not seen … until now
Just the other day I saw a Grasshopper for the first time ever – I hear them a lot and follow the sound, which, when I get close, stops. It then starts up again nearby. I’ve stalked grasshoppers, lain in wait, scanned from a distance with binoculars but never before been lucky. If I’m […]
Autumn Sculpture Trail
RHS Garden Harlow Carr looked magnificent yesterday when I delivered my pieces for the Autumn Sculpture Trail. There are around 40 sculptures placed around the garden and the RHS have published a Trail map so you can find them all. My pieces are along the streamside, in a little cluster near one another – […]