This house sign is hand carved out of Portland limestone and is finished with 23 carat gold leaf.
Before I start carving I draw out the design on the surface of the stone and check with my customer that they are happy before any carving starts.
Florence Villas was a replacement for a very broken piece of Bath stone from over a 100 years ago. I used a coarse Lepine which has good weathering properties.
Senlac is hand carved out of a piece of seasoned Oak and I have finished this with black paint and yacht varnish. Young’s Cottage is hand carved Welsh slate and due to the nature of this material, it doesn’t need painting.
This memorial is hand carved out of Old Red sandstone from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, the images are important to the family, I have finished this with enamel paint and gold leaf on the sun.
Cleaning memorials is very satisfying as it brings the carving back to fresh and like new. I have scrubbed these ones, sanded them and then re-painted the letters.
If you would like to find out any more information on the services that I provide, please feel free to get in touch.
After the painter had been in and conserved the wooden pillars, it was my turn to bring the stone plinths back from their sorry state.
Some areas could have mortar repairs built onto them, whereas the front of one of them needed a whole new piece. I used Portland limestone from Dorset as I believe that was what had been used for the originals.
This is an area where mortar repairs were built onto the stone. I used lime putty and stone dust to create a good match, lime putty needs tending until it has hardened and not shrunk or cracked.
Once the new piece was built onto the brick plinth, I used Hydraulic lime for this mortar as it dries quickly. I was able to finish off the final corner of the other plinth.
I re-used the original corner and pinned it back to the rest of the stone using a threaded stainless steel bar, once the glue had dried, I soaked the stone and built up the mortar repair.
I applied a lime putty shelter coat to the plinths to protect and finish them off. This shelter coat protects the stone and allows the water to move freely through the stone, paint would trap the water.
When doing repairs like these, there is a fine line between conservation and restoration. I made the decision not to fill every ding in the stone and I am really pleased with the overall result.
My commissions start with a sketch, this Pigeon drawing is the fist stage in carving a pair of Pigeons. The pub that they are going to, The Blue Pigeons is being renovated and will re-open in October as a boutique hotel with restaurant and bar. The owners have also bought my carving, Pins and Needles to sit in pride of place in their new establishment.
I am using Tetbury limestone for this carving, it is the stone that I carved Pins and Needles out of, and is lovely to carve. A honey colour with veins of Calcium Carbonate and fossils running through it. Sadly the quarry was forced to close in 2020. As you can see, there is still work to do before they are finished, they will be adorned with hops and vine leaves.
Back in May I took part in an exhibition at St Nicholas Church in Ash, this pair of Tetbury limestone books, inspired by Bluebells was one of my new carvings that I had on display there.
They are still available to buy at £225.
As an old Manwoodian, it is always lovely to be able to give back. This is a carving that I did for them to help raise money for one of the old boarding houses to be turned into an A-level centre. This is the Sir Roger Manwoods coat of arms that I was proud to wear on my blazer.
I hand carved it out of a piece of Welsh slate from the Horseshoe Pass in North Wales. Once the carving was complete, I hand finished it with enamel paint and Gold leaf.
In the time between commissions, I have started to carve the full size stone carving of my ‘Go away, don’t go away’ a drawing that I made in March 2020, I was able to carve her during lockdown on a small scale in a piece of Tetbury limestone. This was the physical form that my emotions took during the pandemic.
I now have the space to carve her on a larger scale, I am using a piece of Lepine limestone, but I know that she will take on a new direction as I no longer have these feelings.
I’m looking forward to working on her on August Bank Holiday Monday.
If you have an idea for a carving and would like to discuss this please feel free to get in touch or pop in and see me. I currently have a 6-8mth waiting list.
I had a wonderful tour of the building works at the Maison Dieu in Dover a few weeks ago.
As their stonemason in residence I feel an attachment to this wonderful historic building and I am looking forward to seeing it restored to it’s former glory.
There are gaol cells beneath the stone hall, when they were being cleared out a medieval tomb was discovered. At the entrance to each cell is some beautiful letter carving, describing what the cells were used for, dark and black they are foreboding, a lady that used to work in the building said it’s very haunted…I’m sure there will be some events and tours focusing on this macabre past.
The last picture interested me as the wear in the paving stone shows how many people, young and old have walked here, wearing the stones down. What stories these walls could tell, if they could talk.
As we walked through the tunnels, the beautiful copper pipes caught my eyes, the next phase of this building’s history, bringing it back into use. As we went through the original medieval archway, evidence of the fragility of the fabric of the building is apparent, thank goodness they are restoring and protecting this now.
We went upstairs into the stone hall, here you will find the original of my grotesque carving. The paintings, wall hangings and historic coats of armour and weapons are all packed away safely or away being carefully restored.
The military banners, so lovingly stitched, traditionally they are left up and allowed to disintegrate naturally. The Maison Dieu have been given special permission to have them conserved and then they will be put back on display in glass cabinets.
This wooden plaque caught my eye.
The Connaught Hall is being given the full treatment, the beautiful paint work of William Burges’ time has been uncovered in places, recorded and protected. Using this information, it will be re-produced. It would be too costly to uncover all of it, however in the Mayor’s parlour it has been. Unfortunately we couldn’t go into this area as it is being restored and conserved. Eventually, it will be a place for visiting pilgrims, wedding guests and families to stay, sleeping up to 7 it will be a wonderful place to have a short break.
Scaffolding from floor to ceiling allows access to details of the stained glass and architectural features.
Climbing the scaffolding stairs took us up into the ceiling, seeing the beautiful stained glass, original light fitting, once gas but now electric.
The amazing ventilation system so beautiful in it’s form yet functional as an early form of air conditioning.
I asked permission to touch the ceiling, knowing I will never have the opportunity again.
As we came back down the stairs, the beautiful stained glass with the original dedication.
I am truly grateful to be able to see this wonderful building at this stage and to know that I am forever part of it’s history.
Before Christmas I bought some beautiful torch-work glass beads from a skilled craftsman. He creates the beads by melting glass rods together and the result is magical.
Due to my workload I haven’t had a chance to start creating with them…until now.
This beautiful ring made with a cabochon bead, it reminds me of the Cat’s Eye Nebula. (size S, £65).
I also have two more new pairs of earring made using simple glass beads, the orange ones feature torch-work beads in the middle. (£40)
I use sterling silver to make my findings on the beads and earrings and use a special paste to protect them from the heat while I am soldering the joins.
The pendants are £28-£32 each.
Silver soldering was a skill that my Dad taught me, he used to repair clocks and watches.
I have some more lovely glass beads, but I need to get some stone carving done so I have put my equipment away for now.
If you would like to commission a unique piece of jewellery, please get in touch.
