Carving

Right from childhood, I have felt the need to create. Inspired to make something that has never existed before. Consequently wood and stone speak to me on a subconscious level. I like the resistance and feel of these materials. The way in which distinctive characteristics are revealed. Above all how the skin, surface, is carved away. Discovering inherent strengths and weaknesses. Through a dialogue between maker and material, natural forces help to create a harmonious balance that respects the character of each.

Golden Rectangle of Shell

Inspirations

First of all, I take inspiration from- natural and man-made forms. Connections with the language of the ancients ( through their mazes, standing stones, geometric designs and spirals). Also mathematical sequences, an emotion, a feeling. Sometimes the forms that particularly inspire me have no memory souvenir. Hence it’s only later I discover their relevance. A  day at the river or beach. Skimming stones, their flat ellipses reflecting the bends of the meandering river or the curve of a beach. It might be the stacked blocks of stone in a quarry. Balanced precariously, somehow defying gravity.

Meandering River

Working from these inspirations, I make sketches and choose the appropriate stone or wood. It’s in the making that the form develops and evolves. As a result each stage incorporates many changes. Because of this, the finished work is often very different from the original idea. It’s this change that excites me and motivates me to create. To see which path the making will take me on. Because different materials respond to different tooling. How they split, break. Their grains showing movements or revealing inner textures. Due to all these surprises the sculpture reveals itself. Finally existing in its own right.

Interpretation

Most of all I really enjoy how each viewer can interpret my sculptures differently. Some might see a seed or a leaf. I decided to call one sculpture I carved “Butterfly” one visitor remarked that it looked like the tail of a whale! Seems like Abstract Art is not so Abstract after all. Another way of seeing.