Cat's Eye Carving

Mitcheldean War Memorial.

Looks like the fundraising is off to a great start; 

The Worshipful Company of Masons have very generously donated £500 to the fund. If you would like to find out more information about this historic livery company please click on this link . I am proud to be a Yeoman Mason a title that was awarded to me in recognition of my own charitable fundraising efforts, and helping to promote the craft of stonemasonry through my stonemason festivals.

The raffle prize that I carved was won on Saturday night at the Mitcheldean Parish Council’s fundraising evening and they raised £379.

I hope to have the photos of the real soldiers from the Parish of Mitcheldean and Abenhall soon so that I can make some preparatory sketches for the 2 half life-size carvings. They are an integral part of the War memorial. The idea of where they are standing and how they are looking is that they are standing watch over the names of the fallen. 

A quick side note, if you watched the Countryfile episode on Sunday 19th, the quarry that was featured is where the block of stone has come from.

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A few simple carvings

I am working my way through a series of commissions but these are peppered with new stone carvings that are available for sale from my studio.

Here are a few photos of some of the smaller items that I have carved. I carry a sketchbook with me at all times and draw what I see wherever I am, these sketches feed my imagination and the drawings provide me with the ideas for the wide variety of carvings that I create. 

I have used Forest of Dean sandstone, Tetbury limestone from Gloucestershire and French limestone.

If you would like to discuss a commission please get in touch.

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Hand carved stone words

All the carving is done by hand using a variety of chisels depending on the hardness of the stone that I carve.

I draw them on the stone to suit the shape, and meaning of the word, they are all unique and while I may use the same word again and again there are no two alike. Each one is finished with either; 23 & 3/4 carat gold leaf which is laid over two coats of paint, painted with a diverse range of paint or left unpainted as sometimes it looks lovely without.

They are sanded if necessary but sometimes I will carve on an un-sawn surface this is trickier but adds a different feeling to the finished product.

As you can see not all my pieces of stone are sawn, I visit the quarries and choose and buy pieces fresh off the face to carve beautiful unique gifts for you.
These pieces are all available to buy at the moment but once they sell although I can carve the word again, it won’t be exactly the same.

I can carve these to order (commission waiting list is roughly 6-8mths) but I will be working on new pieces available to buy from my studio/shop at Taurus Crafts

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New jewellery

I have been making and carving new things to sell in my shop, here is the first set of photos of some new jewellery that I have designed and made using Welsh slate, Mother of Pearl, freshwater pearls and sterling silver.

These are photos of some of them, if you would like to see more examples then head over to my gallery.
(please scroll down to the bottom of the page)

I can make earrings and pendants to order or you can choose from my collection that I have on display and for sale in my studio.

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Fundraising for the war memorial

Fund raising night at the Mitcheldean Community centre to help raise money for the new War memorial. Tickets are £12.50 each from the parish clerk; clerk@mitcheldeancouncil.org.uk or 01594 544723.

I have carved one of the raffle prizes, the Gloster’s Back badge, out of a piece of Mitcheldean sandstone. Tickets are £1 each.

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