Celebrating Houghton Regis's straw plaiting heritage with stone I've recently completed a series of 4 sculptures celebrating the straw plaiting heritage of Bedfordshire town, Houghton Regis. Straw plaiting in Houghton Regis was a huge industry. Straw was grown and gathered by the local community before being plaited and either taken to larger market towns such [...]
Half a lifetime carving letters in stone
Half a lifetime carving letters in stone. In December 1995 I set up a small workshop in a craft centre in Leicestershire having left art college earlier that year. My intention was to sell small sculptures from this workshop to the general public. Very quickly it became apparent that this was going be extremely difficult. [...]
New Paving Artwork
Paving artwork unveiled A new paving artwork has been unveiled in Northamptonshire. The design celebrates the Brampton Valley Way, a former railway line, now a 14 mile long cycle route and nature trail in Beckon Fields, Northamptonshire. The paved sculpture incorporates 25m of engraved sandstone paving and runs around the outside of a childrens play [...]
Sculpture unveiled in Wakefield This week saw a sculpture that I have been working on for some time, unveiled in Wakefield in Yorkshire. Titled "Everglow", the 5m tall concrete and glass artwork was commissioned largely by the developers who have a created a major new housing development in the city. The sculpture is inspired by [...]
Caernarfon Sculptures Complete
The sculptures that I have been working on for Caernarfon castle over the past 2 years or so have been completed and installed. The stone sculptures are inspired by the craftsmen who would have worked on the castle, one of the finest examples of its type, built in the middle ages. On entering the castle, [...]
Giant stone sculpture
I am making good progress on my latest giant stone sculpture. The sculpture takes the form of a giant pair of hands. It weighs in the region of around 8 tonnes having weighed in at a whopping 14 tonnes when it was delivered to my Leicestershire workshop in December. Despite the dreadful storms over the [...]
New giant sculpture
I have just taken delivery of a number of blocks of stone which together will help to create a new giant sculpture. The blocks of buff and red sandstone are assembled in layers but will be carved into one huge artwork measuring 3m x 2m x 1m high. The total weight on delivery was probably [...]
Sculptures at the National Memorial Arboretum
10 years of sculptures at the National Memorial Arboretum. In 2011, I was approached by a lovely elderly gentleman called Harry Parkes. He asked if I would be prepared to make a memorial to the Bevin Boy miners which would be sited at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Harry had been a former Bevin [...]
400th Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum
400th Memorial Unveiled The 400th memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, for the Naafi, was unveiled this week. I have been working on the Naafi memorial at my workshop over the last few months and last week it was installed and and dedicated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. I hadn't been aware until [...]
Railway sculpture ready for install
The railway sculpture that I have been working on for a couple of months is due to be installed in the coming weeks. The stone sculpture, carved in relief weighs 5 tonnes, is almost 2m high and 2m wide. Inspiration for the artwork was taken from Leighton Buzzard light railway where the volunteers have sought [...]