I graduated in Geology in 1992 and worked in Portugal and offshore in The North Sea before retraining as a stonemason and carver.
My sculptural work tends to be based upon Geology seen in the rocks around Devon, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and further afield.
Climbing has allowed me to explore areas of rock that are seldom travelled such as the ochre stained cliffs and caves below Berry Head which display the most amazing structural geology. Often these structures make perfect handholds as you climb above the turquoise ocean. I have taken the folding of a single vein of Quartz in a remote valley in the Himalaya as a basis for many of my pieces. Folded Quartz veins such as this can also be seen on the wave washed rocks of the South West coastline.
The vast geological time scale in contrast with the seconds it takes to make a mark with a single strike of a chisel is hard to comprehend. Stone is an amazing natural material that has huge variety depending upon how it was formed. The colour and texture along with any features such as fossils or sedimentary structures tell a story from millions of years ago. Each fragment of rock is already incredibly old and has a history before any carving takes place.
My work can be seen on display at London Contemporary Art Gallery in London and The Sculpture Park in Farnham.
I also carry out masonry, carving and restoration work as well as designing and making bespoke pieces for new buildings. We can conserve and restore stonework using lime mortar repairs to match the existing stone.
I can also provide hand carved letterwork on a building or a plaque or memorial, we will hand draw and cut each letter taking the utmost care and attention to detail and style and most importantly the aesthetics.
We are also able to clean, restore and repair statuary and sculptures.