Wildlife
I met an owl in the lane
It surprised us both I think! At the start of darkness, the night just beginning, out of the flickering dusk an owl takes flight, stares at the tussocks and glides up over the hedge and is only yards from me in the lane. It zig-zags away, startled. The Barn Owl reappears a field away, […]
Autumnal stroll
We’re almost in the middle of November and the darker mornings and evenings really are making a difference now. As we slide into winter, nature presents a varying palette of golds, tawny browns, oranges and reds, shifting every day and inspiring anew. I notice I’m drawn to stones with rich, seasonal colouring, how magnificent […]
Wernicke
A bird flew into the house, it was a bit panicked and flapping when it saw me. I stayed still and it flew to the bookcase and perched there. I tried to usher it back out, but each time it flew past the wide open window and back round to the top of the […]
Fossily Bird
Fossily Bird sculpture is carved in Swaledale Fossil limestone. The stone contains an abundance of fossils and fossil traces which are really brought out clearly when the stone is polished. As might be expected Swaledale Fossil comes from Swaledale, a North Yorkshire dale on the River Swale. It is a typical limestone valley, the […]
Wildlife Art
On Thursday this week the Society of Wildlife Artists annual exhibition The Natural Eye 2019 opens at the Mall Galleries – paintings, drawings, original prints and sculpture all inspired by the natural world. It is always a thrill to go, and truly inspiring for me. I’ll tell you all about it after I’ve been, […]
In the Workshop today – carving triangles
These little simple shapes – I’m just carving triangles – when repeated, grouped, and wandering, magically make patterns. I adore the way they catch the light and the stone surface comes alive. The triangles span out, as they spread they look like stars. But, actually the idea is that they will indicate scales. I’m […]
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 […]
Joy to the heart
Last night I caught an interview on the television with Isabella Tree of Knepp Wildland, about the re-wilding of the once intensively farmed estate in West Sussex. Of course my ears pricked up at the mention of Turtle Doves, as they have been my preoccupation of late (for this exhibition). Throughout the interview birdsong […]
In the Workshop today – Turtle Doves
Said to represent innocence, purity and enduring love, Turtle Dove lore in deeply notched into our minds – seen in art, poetry, Shakespeare, Egyptian carvings, they were even said to draw the heavenly chariot of Aphrodite herself! The name seems strange doesn’t it, but they’re not in any way related to turtles, these doves […]
Owl Awareness Day
International Owl Awareness Day was actually on Sunday (4th August, 2019) – but I’m celebrating today as this morning there were traces (lime splatter) that an owl had been present in the shed overnight. The find fires my imagination. This year the Kestrels nested in the box, and I haven’t seen much evidence of […]