I will be exhibiting sculptures in a variety of different stones, from beautifully coloured and patterned soapstones to honey coloured local limestones, full of tiny shells and fossils. Some are almost pocket sized while others require a bit of heavy lifting! Most are smoothed and finely sanded to reveal the beauty of the stone beneath.
My clay pieces are generally small and made from rough Crank clay. Visitors are intrigued by my ‘wobble pots’, which do just that – wobble without falling over! While I make very little that is of practical use, my ‘cane toppers’ could prevent you from losing an eye to a bamboo cane in the garden.
Exhibiting in my own studio, a characterful old stable, means I can carry on working while we are open and demonstrate the different stages of making.
From early childhood I have always dabbled in art in its various forms but have chosen clay and stone as my favourite media. These materials, almost as old as the earth itself, have been worked by most cultures around the world to produce objects for domestic use or artistic/cultural expression. I like to think that through hand-building clay and using only basic hand tools for stone carving I am, in my small way, part of that age-old tradition!
I am inspired by the natural world – seed pods, fossils, birds, leaves, animals and the human body – as well as mathematical patterns in nature. Recently I have started to explore 3D interpretations of musical notation, inspired by beautifully printed dusty old piano music. The Uffington White Horse, in whose shadow I have lived most of my life, is a continuing source of mystery and fascination to me.
My interest has always been in line and form rather than colour or surface texture, although my largest artwork – 2m by 6m – is a very colourful mural depicting the Garden of Eden! Situated in the Blessed Hugh Church courtyard, it was a very enjoyable lockdown project.
More of my work can be seen round the town: bollards in the Market Place ‘Green Faringdon’ and ‘Beneath our Feet’; a circular metal noticeboard around the tree at the bottom of the Market Place featuring the Folly and four stone finials on top of the gateposts at the entrance to Folly Park View, based on Faringdon’s famous fossils.
I have been a member of Faringdon Art Society for many years and always take part in their art shows and craft fairs, winning ‘Best in Show’ in 2022. I open my studio in Great Coxwell every May for Oxfordshire Artweeks and look forward to seeing you there.