Stone Carving and Letter Cutting
I have been playing with the pigments for my lastest jesmonite casts. For my Hengist and Horsa bookends, I have used a black pigment and for the others I have been experimenting with slate dust.
My latest jesmonite clocks with different colours, small but unique. £18-£25.
I am designing and creating some more of my unique jewellery.
These earrings have been made using Welsh slate, glass beads and sterling silver wire. I make all the fixings and hooks so they can be made to a size that suits you.
My pendants are made using Welsh slate and sterling silver.
I can make the thong out of leather or waxed cotton to any length you would like, on a sliding knot, with a magnetic, lobster or screw fixing, these findings are not silver.
As you wear my unique jewellery, it absorbs your skins natural oils and darkens, this ultimately connects each piece to you.
I welcome commissions, so please feel free to get in touch.
I have been busy working through my commission schedule, the Green Man is hand carved out of tetbury limestone and represents about 40 hours work.
House signs are my bread and butter and it’s always fun to use colours creatively and add motifs, the tw numbers are hand carved out of Welsh slate, the Number 3 has 3 different greens, gradually dark to light and the 24, cut it into a circle with the addition of the daffodil.
The Bookends and Shelvin Farm house are the next two on my list and thankfully the weather is cooler so I can feel comfortable in my dust mask.
I have some interesting conservation work to get on with before the frosts start, I am doing some re-pointing using lime mortar, this is the foundation of my training as a stonemason and when done properly not only looks beautiful but can protect homes from damp and erosion. Cement traps the water and doesn’t allow the bricks or stone to breathe.
In this instance, I was pointing the empty joints, the next stage of this job is to cut out cement and some dead bricks, ready to re-point with the lime mortar.
I have another day on this part of the job, I will be starting the next part next Spring, this type of work can’t be carried out once the frosts have started.
Please feel free to get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote on all aspects of stonemasonry, conservation, stone carving and letter carving.
I have moved my business to Sandwich in Kent.
As you will know from previous posts, I have been spending a great deal of time in my home county.
This Summer I have taken part in some wonderful events and my commission list is growing.
I am the stonemason in residence for the Maison Dieu in Dover, I work with the Sandwich Medieval Trust and I have started running stone carving activities for heritage sites.
Just last month, I was offered a wonderful shop in the centre of Sandwich. In just that short time, I have packed up my studio at Taurus Crafts, it is the end of an era, but the start of something new and exciting.
My new address is;
24 Market Street, Sandwich. Kent. CT13 9DA.
I have a space for a gallery, a drawing area, running my popular activities, a work-room and space for visiting crafts men and women to run courses in other interesting subjects.
I have some exciting plans in the works but I need to settle in first.
I will be open from Thursday to Sunday, and by appointment on the other days, this will allow me to get on with my commissions and new pieces for my gallery.
I will also be inviting local artists to exhibit and sell their work.
What a wonderful Summer of events and throughout them all I have been carving a Grotesque inspired by one from the stone hall of Dover’s historic Maison Dieu.
I was demonstrating stone carving by working on the beastie and my last two events were;
Staple Country Fayre at the end of June.
And Sir Roger Manwood’s Open day. I didn’t have much time to work on my beastie but I did have some very interested children trying their hand at stone carving and making a rubbing of my Wyvern carving.
It was lovely to talk to people about the Maison Dieu commission but also show them how I carve my grotesque, using the various chisels, drawings and templates.
I completed my carving in my workshop and it was very exciting to be able to officially unveil him in St Mary’s Church in Dover, after an imaginative time travelling adventure, led by a character inspired by a Grotesque from the Maison Dieu. The play was put on by the Dover Youth Theatre, some wonderful characters made more fun by the children playing them.
My carving will become part of the Museum’s handling objects when they re-open to the public.
It was lovely to give people the opportunity to touch him, feel the chisel marks and ask me questions.
Finally a photo of me and my grotesque with the Mayor of Dover, Sue Jones and Chairman of Dover Town Council, Gordon Cowan.
Please click here to read the press release.