Stone Carving and Letter Cutting
This Greenman is straight out of my imagination, I am not working from a plan or sketch. This is a fun way to be creative as things that I observe in nature and people that I meet come out of my sub-conscious and wind up as a stone carving.
Here’s a video of me carving him.
I am using French limestone, it is lovely and dense and carves beautifully.
I am using cold steel chisels but some tungsten tipped chisels for when I come across a fossil.
This is Ben Edge, an incredibly talented artist, he focuses on Folklore art and here he is as a Greenman.
Ben commissioned me to carve his as a Greenman and I relished the challenge. I hand carved this out of French limestone.
Once I had completed the carving, I made a silicone mould so that casts could be produced.
There are 13 casts and Ben is going to paint them in his inimitable style. These will be available to buy from him.
Here we both are with my original stone-carving, when Ben came and collected his casts.
I was commissioned to carve this wonderful Puffin playing bagpipes for the new Lady Mayoress of the city of London.
Commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Masons , this is part of the family heraldry of Elisabeth Mainelli.
A liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Masons and the Lady Mayoress of the City of London.
The next stage was to cut and sand a piece of Forest of Dean Sandstone, then draw out the inscription ready to carve.
The completed carving had two bases, the piece of Forest of Dean sandstone I used for the lettering had to be relatively large to fit the inscription on, the letters were 1.25 inch capitals and 3/4 inch lower case. I used gold leaf in the letters.
The second base was to make the carving easier to display and was made from a thin piece of Welsh slate.
I finished the carving by painting the detail with enamel paint, this makes it suitable for outside, but I hope that they keep my carving indoors.
I was privileged to be invited to Mansion house in London to attend the presentation.
So much beautiful architecture, it was a sensory overload. The contrast between old and new really is awe inspiring.
The plaster work inside Mansion House is exquisite, if you follow this link, it tells you how you can book onto a tour.
The unveiling ceremony took place in one of the beautiful rooms of this magnificent building.
Left to right in the picture; the Renter Warden, Me, the Master, the Lady Mayoress, the Upper Warden and the Clerk.
As a traditional stonemason, I spend my time doing all aspects of stonemasonry and letter-cutting, this is my latest completed commission.
I am an old Manwoodian of Sir Roger Manwood’s school in Sandwich.
In the Summer, I was commissioned to carve a name onto the commemorative plaque in the school hall.
During the October half-term, I spent the day carving.
The fonts used by previous carvers on this plaque and the existing one are all slightly different so I drew my layout to compliment them all.
Working off a scaffolding tower for the day always poses difficulties, it wasn’t quite high enough so I stood on small carpet tiles to lift me up a bit and held my arms higher.
However 7 hours of discomfort is nothing compared to a life given.
I have been busy designing and making some more of my unique jewellery.
If you are looking for something unique for someone special, then look no further.
Each pendant and pair of earrings are one of a kind, I create beautiful pieces that can be worn everyday or to accent an outfit.
My Welsh slate and sterling silver jewellery is surprisingly light and I make them to be worn everyday.
My glass beads, crystal and freshwater pearl earrings are statement pieces but I design jewellery that I would like to wear, so hopefully you will like my jewellery too.
I can make something especially for you or someone else, you can choose your colours, length and style.
Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to find out more.