Cat's Eye Carving

Update on my latest hand carved stone sculpture

I have been working on my latest sculpture that will be on display for the Forest and Rivers Open Studios this Summer. I have also started another carving and I have been busy working on some designs for a series of sculptures with a theme that excites and inspires me; the sea and all the beauty of the shoreline.

As you can see my carving is progressing well since my last post and I am looking at the way a broken shell still has an inherent beauty.

As you can see there is still a bit of carving to do, I normally don’t concentrate on one side but I needed to have something for the exhibition brochure, now I can get back on with this sculpture as a whole. The second carving is a more literal depiction of the broken shell that I am currently studying.

The page from my sketchbook shows some very rough sketches for ideas and shapes that are found within the shell. In this instance I don’t carry out a detailed drawing as this would detract from the sculpture and in a small way box my ideas in.

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New hand carved sculptures

I have realised that during the last 3yrs that I have been busy with a variety of great commissions but the way I managed my schedule left me with little or no time to develop my hand carved stone sculptures.

With this in mind I am making a conscious effort to balance my time more effectively so I can carve commissions for my lovely customers but also satisfy my creative bent to come up with some new sculptures in stone, jesmonite and bronze.

Here is a little teaser for the stone carving that I am currently engaged with. It is Limestone from Yorkshire, I have some Tetbury limestone and Lepine;a French limestone, lined up for my next carvings which I am already hard at work designing.

My first decision was to once again join up with The Forest of Dean Open Studios, now aptly titled Forest and Rivers open studios to encompass the far reaching skills of the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley. I used to take part in this event when I was based at Harts Barn many years ago and I look forward to exhibiting outside of my studio once more.

This means that I will take part in some exhibitions around the area.

1st July – 16th July at The George Café (nr the clock tower) Newnham. GL14 1BS.

7th October – 15th October at the Newland Village Room, Newland, Coleford. GL16 8NP.

7th October – 15th October FarOpen Arts Trail.

Obviously you will be able to visit me in my studio at Taurus Crafts all the time as well but please check my opening times for details or you can contact me to chat about any of these events, a commission or to arrange a visit.

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Letter carving and Gilding

I have been very productive in the last few weeks as you can see.

The carving in the foreground is the Sun altar that I have been commissioned to carve. I have just applied the 23&3/4 carat Gold leaf. There are several other pieces of Forest of Dean sandstone in the background which have also just received this treatment.

Some of the letter carving that I have carried out only has paint on it so far but once they are gilded they really stand out.

There are also a few I haven’t got round to carving yet and as you can see my slate spirals on my bench although it is progressing well has been put on the back burner in favour of another carving I have been developing in Magnesium limestone from Yorkshire. 

What an exciting and interesting time it is for me at the moment. The icing on the cake would be to be given the commission to carve the new War Memorial for Mitcheldean & Abenhall Parish. 

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Hand carved commissions. Have a go sessions and my sculptures

3wks of Easter holiday really knocks the wind out of me, running my stone carving activities is an incredibly rewarding experience but very tiring. The most memorable ‘have a go-ee’ was a small girl possibly 6yrs old, very quiet and struggled at first with the mallet and chisel but once she had got the hang of it and her hand eye co-ordination was set she couldn’t be stopped. A future stonemason? who can tell but the fact she tried it and seemed to love it is enough for me. At that age new experiences are the most important part of learning and to have the opportunity to try out things children or adults wouldn’t normally get to try is extremely important and thanks to the kind of childhood I had is probably why I am where I am today.

My creativity knows no bounds and I can’t keep up with my ideas. I have several sketchbooks on the go at the moment and 6 different stone carvings. A medieval face which I am carving in St Bees sandstone from Cumbria, it is a beautiful red sandstone, very dense and hard but it is slightly easier to carve than some of the Forest of dean sandstones. I am working on a piece of Welsh slate which is a spiral design drawn using geometry, A piece of Caen limestone from Normandy, which is hard and dense a lovely honey colour, this I am carving another head but using two spirals almost like two galaxies colliding. Talking of galaxies one of my pieces which will hold water as that is an important part of the design has beautiful patterns running through it, it is a piece of red Forest of Dean Sandstone from the now mothballed Wilderness quarry in Mitcheldean, this is inspired by the spiralling storms and swirls on Jupiter. On a different vein, a piece in Portland limestone one of the rejected designs for my Highgate commission, I am carving this as a sculpture in the round and a relief in a piece of marble. All of these projects represent my idea threads, some old and some just forming.

I haven’t heard any news on the War Memorial proposal that I submitted but fingers crossed.

This development of my ideas is a important part of the process of learning and improving my carving skills. I am not the best, yet but with each new carving my ideas mature, my understanding of the raw material grows, my carving technique and ability to carve what is in my head improves. 

My commissions are coming in thick and fast now so my waiting list is now 10wks. I am currently working on a Sun Altar in Portland limestone a selection of house names and numbers and a wedding present and a new design for my Loch Ness commissions.  If you have an idea that you would like to discuss I am happy to make a rough sketch design for you and we can discuss your needs further. I continue to make new items for my shop so as soon as these are ready I will post some photos here.

Thank you for reading, hope to see you at my studio soon.

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Inspired by space

This is a work in progress, I am carving it out of Mitcheldean sandstone.

I have been inspired by the beautiful planets that we share our Solar System with. This is the first carving in my latest series.

When the stone is wet and polished it has beautiful bed lines of varying tones which add an extra dimension of beauty to the carving. 

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