Wildlife
Lapwing Sculpture
I didn’t expect that this piece of Cobalt stone would become a Lapwing – I thought the colouring and patterning might suit something more abstract. When thinking about sculpting a Lapwing I had imagined it in sandstone – then all of a sudden I saw this chunk of serpentine, not as a lump of […]
Lovely Ling
The heather on the North York Moors just now is breathtaking – I love the deep honey-sweet, woody smell. There are hints of peat too and occasionally the wind blows over the aromatic scent of Bog-myrtle. The senses are filled up, long stretching views of purple hue, a distinctive atmospheric light, […]
From the Rookery
This bird sculpture is carved in Springstone (a hard Serpentine stone mined in Northern Zimbabwe) and I’ve called it Fumblefot. The piece of stone is actually an off-cut from a sculpture I previously carved (Fugol), and in a similar way I’ve retained the golden colouring at the outer edge, inside the stone turns to […]
Face Feathers
The Barn Owl that visits my workshop sits on one of the beams, and seems to spend lots of time preening. In the morning I find the feathers on the workshop floor. Recently the feathers have been from the Barn Owl’s face – small, almost bristly feathers, stiff and strongly curved. Some have the […]
Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows
About this time last year I was planning my week long trip to Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows. Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows lies at the heart of the Nene Valley, one of the most important wetlands in England and an internationally important stop-over for thousands of wildfowl and waders. Bordering the River Nene, the marsh […]
The Sun is High
Happy Summer Solstice There’s lots of talk about the Strawberry Moon this year on our longest day – but I’m happy with late evening sun and a Barn Owl flying overhead.
A frenzy of fledglings
It is so busy at the workshop just now with birds free from sitting on nests frantically attempting to manage their broods, fresh fledged and wide-eyed. My pair of blue-tits, who nested in the corner of my shed, encourage their young with constant calls and example flights upwards. One baby took its first flight […]
Kestrel company
When Kestrels are around you jolly well know about it. They’re noisy birds. I saw one on my way to the workshop in early March, further down the lane and was pleased, having not seen them here before. By late March they were close-by, sitting on fence posts, and obviously checking me out. At […]
Otter Streamside
Today I delivered and set up pieces at RHS Garden Harlow Carr for the Streamside Sculpture Trail which is on during June. At the gate I met a similarly loaded vehicle, with sculpture padded and strapped for the journey – and in the gardens other sculptors busy setting out their pieces. One of my […]
Shrew Sculpture – Egyptian style
A fascinating ancient Egyptian bronze shrew sarcophagus, dating to the Late Period, 664 – 332 BC. I found this image at ArtAncient whilst searching for information about shrews – to get to know more about these little mammals that I’m rather fond of, as you know from this recent shrew, and this one. The […]