Sculpture
Zebra Rock Birds
It isn’t often that I have red dust around, but I’ve been working on the Zebra Stone, making a couple of birds. The colouring and patterns are so unusual in this rock that I wanted to get the markings in the right places for the bird shapes – the splodges of red certainly influence […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
Plume
I’ve been working on a series of maquettes for a piece called Plume – this is one of them carved in Portland Limestone. I become rather fond of these models, they are a collection of open, honest, sometimes unresolved, sometimes unfinished, experimental trial runs. They teach me a lot about what needs further work, […]
Twosome
A sculpture of two birds carved in Tadcaster Limestone – I love the spotting of colour in the tails of each bird, and it also appears lightly on their heads too. Such delicate mottling, which I think lends Twosome a gentle grace. I’ve sanded the birds smooth to give a fine finish. This pair […]
Tall-tailed Bird
Here is my sculpture Tall-tailed Bird, carved in Cornish Soapstone – the one I was sanding the other day. The sculpture is now finished and polished ready for my exhibition at the weekend. Art& York exhibition – Friday 27, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October, 2017 – I’m on Stand No. 83. Look forward […]
In the Workshop – sanding my heart out
There are no shortcuts with sanding – it just has to be done if I want a flawlessly smooth surface. This bird sculpture will be polished, so if I’m not thorough I’ll be found out. As I work through the grades of abrasive I’m feeling the finish as much as seeing it, finger tips […]
On seeing your sculpture of an otter
A wonderful thing happened to me the other day. Some days are like that, out-of-the-blue loveliness which brings smiles and big happiness. It is otter related. A lady, Isobel Thrilling, sent me a poem she had written in response to seeing my Otter sculpture – I asked her if I could share it, as […]
Two Birds sculpture
I’ve been working on the two birds sculpture Side by Side, finishing off their heads and smoothing their roundy bodies, so they’re ‘birthed’ proper now.