365 Portrait Project

I had the pleasure of inviting my local ‘Primary School Headmaster’ from Barming out to my workshop to have a look at what I’ve been up to since starting the Cobtree Project. Robin Halls is also a very keen photographer who last January set him self a task of taking a portrait every day for a year. He has called this body of work ‘The 365 Portrait Project’. I can recall speaking with Robin probably 11 months ago about his work and how challenging his project sounded due to his busy commitments as a Head Teacher. Of course, I was more than happy to invite him out to the workshop when he expressed an interest in photographing portraits of artist’s to add variety to the theme of individual portraits. On previous occasions before when I have had portraits taken I am normally unrecognizable. My face is obscuered with a dust mask, ear defenders and a hat, just the way I like it!! However, as it was early in the morning and I had yet to get togged up with mask and grinder, Robin was able to catch me dust free and content. You can check out more of Robin’s photos and follow his last few weeks of portraits by clicking the link below. You might even be surprised and see someone you know!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91676789@N07/11484350354/in/set-72157638291575344

Segment: 'Each of the parts into which something may be divided'

The final two segments that will complete the ‘Seed Stack’ sculpture are starting to take shape. A good morning was spent grinding and blocking out the arch’s in the two stones. I’ve decided to put the two blocks together to work the overall ‘dome’ shape and then they will be separated, turned over and hollowed out. It sounds like a lot of work but I have lifted the blocks up onto one of the wider benches to save the strain on my back and therefore making me work faster, well that’s the logic! It’s hard to think it’s nearly Christmas with the sort of weather there has been today. Beautiful sunshine motivated my progress but it seemed it was not long before the tungsten lamps had to be turned on because of poor visibility.  

 

 

 

 

Winter's setting in.

The mist and fog has been lying thick in the valley below and on the hills the last few mornings. The temperature has been mild, but the dampness and moisture in the air has been playing havoc with the compressor!! If it's not cutting out, it's icing up because of the weather! This was becoming a little frustrating and was preventing me from quickly getting on with removing the stone from a very hard block of Kilkenny. As annoying as this had become, I was soon drawn to the view across the field to the right of the workshop. There are two small rescued horses in the field. The one in the picture is called Bramble. For a moment I forgot about carving and stood focused on the horse, admiring the imposing mist and fog and how atmospheric the landscape looked.

Balancing Act

Before I carried on carving the remaining two spheres, I really needed to drill and stack the balls on top of each other to ensure the segments and angles resembled my idea! In order to make the sculpture safe I drilled into the bottom stone and inserted a pin into the studio floor. The second sphere was offered up using the 'Lewis pin' which made life so much easier. The Lewis pin is a split steel pin on a lifting eye that gets inserted into the drill hole. When the stone is lifted the weight of the stone forces the pin to lock inside the drill hole enabling it to be safely lifted, giving me a nice straight lift. This method enabled me to hoist the stone above the bottom stone and connect the two together with another stainless steel pin. As this was only temporary, the pins remained loose and there was no resin glue used. The third stone however was a little tricky! I could not use the Lewis pin in the top of the stone to lift it as this would have left a visible hole in the top! Instead I used the straps and gentley lifted the stone trying to ensure it was cradled and balanced at all times. The problem you always have when lifting  a stone with no edges is the possibility of it slipping out of the straps. Encountering any lifting problems now is always good, as it's best to be prepared and have all the problem solving done before installation. Now that it's all together I can begin to draw onto the remaining two spheres and then dissemble...which should be fun!

To follow the production of the Cobtree Sculptures visit the site - http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk/

Seed Stack!

 

To follow the production of the Cobtree Sculptures visit the site - http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk/

Anatomy of a leaf

I have been quietly carving and playing around with the depth of the leaf veins today, sanding and filing as I go. I haven’t wanted to go too deep or create undercuts in places as the surface of the stone will collect debris and water when it sits close to the ground. However, I don’t want the carving to remain flat, so I’ve been trying to simplify the junctions of the leaf veins and the midrib of the leaf. The surface also needs to be comfortable to sit on and I am keen on making the stone very tactile to the touch.
To read more about this project visit; http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk/

Room with a view

This was the view from directly outside the workshop this morning.
Today the sunshine and light was beautiful and the first touch of frosty air whistled around the yard, numbing my fingers and leaving the steel chisels almost unbearable to touch. As much a I wanted to stand and take in the view, I needed to keep moving to stay warm. It proved to be a good productive day!!

Lighter than a leaf!

It has been exceptionally windy again today and with the studio doors wide open there was no shortage of leaves blowing into the workshop. Pretty ironic considering I was starting work on the Cob Leaf stone which will form part of the larger leaf cut out stone sculpture. 
I have to be extremely careful when lifting the stone so as not to damage the carved profile edges! At one point I will also have to flip the stone completely to drill a fixing hole on the underside!!! The stone will sit on a smaller block and will be 450mm off the ground. I want the leaf pattern on the top surface to be weathered to allow for the free running of water of its surface. So far I'm really pleased with the profiles around the side of the stone and may finish them with a rough grade paper finish. The profiles will help me sharpen and give form to the leaf pattern when I start carving the ribs and veins onto the top of this very dense and hard Irish Blue Limestone. Here's hoping the wind will not be as fierce tomorrow as I want to be doing a lot of grinding which will throw up and create a lot of dust!!
To read more about this project please visit; http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk/

Sculpture Foundation

Oh I do love walking through the grounds of the Cass Sculpture Foundation at Goodwood this time of year. We managed to stay dry for the 2 hour excursion around all the work on display, despite the weather forecast. There had been some tranquil and meditative moments and encounters with artworks as we appeared to have the place to ourselves. It was a real pleasure seeing Peter Burke's 'Host'. At this time of year his collection of human figures stood still while the leaves on the trees fell quietly to the forest floor. It was also great to see some carvings by Jon Isherwood again (below). It made me want to be even more playful and experimental with my own carving. 

One while I wait!

I have had a few delays in taking receipt of the stone for the Cobtree Commission and it has created a few headaches. However, as eager as I am to get stuck in, I have had to start a new small carving to keep me ticking over. I know as soon as the stone arrives on Monday I will have to leave the small carving and get on with the big stuff! But I couldn't resist!

Taking Delivery

I've had this postcard pinned to my notice board in the studio for such a long time now. I brought it back from my first trip to the marble quarries in Carrara, Italy in 1996. The experience was a real eye opener for me. I had never seen anything like it before. From the characters of the people who worked there, to the vast scale of the operation of quarrying marble. I remember there was only one  road up into the mountains and one road down. It was as frightening as it was thrilling, passing huge truks with a 7 ton load on hair pin bends. You definitely need a head for heights. I could never do their job. At the foot of the mountain there was a small outdoor museum which was an area roped off with a few notice boards telling the history of the place and old photos of when Musolini plundered the hills for some of the largest single blocks of marble for his buildings in Milan. However it was this postcard that caught my eye and made me smile when I was looking for my own souvenir to take away with me. It always triggers my memory when I'm about to take receipt of large blocks of stone myself. I have had to roll a few off the sides of trucks in the past but in the case of the Kilkenny from Ireland I'll be opting for a more straight forward and less damaging approach. The stone leaves the yard in Ireland today and should start its journey over to England and arrive in Kent by Tuesday. To find out more about the Cobtree Sculpture Commission please visit;http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk/

A sculpture with a twist

I have completed the base for the latest carving that I've been working on out of an off cut of Irish blue limestone. The initial notion I had was to use the drill markings and fluted marks already on the stone. This soon changed once I started masoning the faces. Its such a great material to work with and it always surprises me how many colour changes and variations one goes through when rubbing down the stones surface. However, on this occasion I felt that the best approach was to have all the faces smooth and scratch free including the underside of the curve on the bottom corner. The base stone is very dense and surprisingly heavy for such a small block. The carving which sits on top is also relatively heavy and I had several attempts at balancing the two together until I got the angle and lean I was happy with. Normally I would fix a pin to the base stone and set the sculpture on top, but this time I had to fix the pin to the sculpture's rounded base as the Irish blue limestone had originally been pre drilled with a wider drill hole and I could not determine the angle the carving would sit at. This process of fixing two stones together always requires a lot of manual lifting and shifting before committing to drilling and fixing. When you get it right and the two stones don't rock and remain stable without glue and the fixing pin is not visible from underneath, it is a very satisfying feeling. With only a short amount of time after studying the pleasing angles and views of the work the urgency to start work on the next idea soon creeps in and takes over, even though I know I will be glancing and feeling the stone for the next few weeks as it catches my eye as I walk past it.

'Growing Up Together' 2013. Portland Limestone and Irish Blue Limestone. 70 cm x 40 cm x 35 cm.

Twists and turns

Trying out an idea for a base after finalising the form of the stone. The Portland still needs to be polished but I'm happy with the curve and the twist. I've chosen a small off cut of Irish Blue Limestone for a base as it already has several drill marks on its surface which I want to use. It will still need a lot more work before fixing the two together.

Morning after the storm

They did say the wind was going to pick up! Luckily I was not in the workshop at the time, otherwise I think I may have been a little worried! The tree that did fall clipped the roof on its way down. Resulting in one big hole and one very flooded studio. Time to get the chainsaw and mop out!

Growing up Together

So the answer is, I did separate the carving from the bottom section! 

Exploration of the sea bed

As strange as it may sound, I've always been fascinated by the method of studying the earth’s crust through the process of core drilling!! In my exploration of this concept I have wanted to create a carving that captures this idea of searching, exploring and analysing something that relates to the past.
By using references and the samples drilled and extracted from the earth, I know I'm playing with a geological structure but want to use this visual form to suggest a more human and personal study of how we can go in search of hidden and personal histories.
This started out as one block but the more I remove, it is tending to lend itself to being removed completely from the attached cylinder bottom. This normally defeats the purpose of carving a large block of stone and I hope I don't regret what could have been achieved with two relatively smaller stones!
I'm confident though after doing a few rough sketches that it will all add to the evolution of the idea.

(Working title) Growing up Together.

Trails with Tales / The Cobtree Sculpture Trail.

This blog below will follow the production of four site specific stone sculptures designed by myself for the permanent display within 'Cobtree Manor Park'. The public art commission was an open submission competition devised by Maidstone Borough Council who have been working in partnership with the Cobtree Estate Committee.

The vision and concept is to create a sculpture trail around the newly regenerated park with an emphasis on encouraging visitors to explore the extent of the park while also celebrating its past history as Maistone zoo.
The project is anticipated to be completed over a period of five months and there will be regular updates on the blog, detailing the various stages from fabrication and production to the final installation.

http://thecobtreesculpture.blogspot.co.uk

Split, Rock & Roll

While the momentum is there, another piece gets under way. This is another salvaged block of Portland Limestone that had been started on by another sculptor and then abandoned! After Splitting away the vent and flattening a base, it has left me with a good proportioned lump! Let's see what happens!

Time Capsule

Time Capsule -2013. 1.7 m x 45 cm x 45 cm .

 

Where ideas are made!

A moment captured when the autumnal light pierced the back of my seat and cast a shadow onto a sphere of Irish Blue Limestone. A moment of sudden enlightenment when an idea springs to mind! 

Touch Stone

I've stopped counting the days I've been working on this sculpture as I've been focusing on a new commission and all the paperwork that comes with it. I think it might be day 8!!

The days away from it and the reconnection with it again has left me considering a few ideas and a new approach to the carving. One idea I have had has risen from the temptation to always touch the top of the stone column when I'm working it. This has resulted in me rounding the top of the stone and because it stands at 1.5m it is inviting for the viewer to reach out and touch the warm tactile quality of the 'Portland Capsule'. The idea of texturing the lower half of the sculpture has also changed and I have now began to introduce a fluted pattern across its surface. The notion is to explore the history of the landscape through the representation of core sampling while also referencing my physical exploration of the stone and the reductive process of carving. 

Lazy Days

Yesterday was one of those testing days, as much as I tried, my efforts on shaping the stone by the end of the day had only produced dust and a few stone chipping's. In a way I needed a day like that to help me slow down and look closely at how the sculpture was developing. Today however was more successful and I am pleased with how it's taking shape. I've lowered the stone again and brought it back out into the natural light to highlight al those lumps and bumps! I'm looking forward to polishing this Portland up however I'm already thinking that the lower half will be textured with some nice big punch marks!

Setting out for the column!

Day 4. Setting out the areas to be removed to start carving the column.

The Reductive Process

Day 3 and I have taken away most of the waste and have lifted the stone onto a banker to save the strain on my back!! Now time to get out the compressor!

Portland Thrill

Day two, with a lot more of this before I get down to carving!!

The Big Move!

Just relocated to a new studio in the peaceful countryside...

...appropriately named 'Quarry Farm' ! 

Open Garden

The difference it makes getting work out off the studio and into the open and natural environment is vital for inspiration as well as developing and gaining constructive / reflective commentary.

The work 'Every Cloud' is being shown at the Open Gardens of S. Ellis, West Farliegh, Kent until the end of September. Viewing can also be made by appointment and additional work will also be added throughout September. Further details will follow.

Every Cloud....

I never thought I would see the day when  working at my studio in Kent that I would be suffering from the heat! It has been undoubtably tough carving the past few weeks with temperatures reaching 31 degrees the other day. I had been so looking forward to the angle grinder being put down and the dust mask being removed and finally getting to the polishing stage. Unfortunately when it did come to dry polishing, the black Kilkenny limestone would heat up so much that it almost became unbearable to the touch. I didn't want to take the polish to a reflective finish or use any wax on the surface as I have done in the past with this stone. I like the colour and softness of Kilkenny when it's just taken to around a 400 grit.

It's a labour intensive job, but one that is rewarding when you know every last fossil and shell is scratch free, glistening in the sunlight.

          'Every Cloud' 2013 - 120 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm . Kilkenny Limestone. 

Saatchi Online Origionals

Im excited to announce that my work is being featured in the Saatchi Online Originals under $1000 collection.

Check it out here: 

http://www.saatchionline.com/art-collection/Painting-Assemblage-Collage-Drawing/Originals-1000-and-Under/153961/48580/view

Review of work

An article about my work is available to view in the current edition of Stone-ideas.com which is an independent magazine published every two weeks in the internet in five languages. Its focus is on architecture and design with natural stone and currently enjoys some 30,000 visits every month.http://www.stone-ideas.com/2013/06/05/art-local-history-and-the-unconscious/.

CNC! (Computers, Not Carving!)

I had my annual visit to the Natural Stone Show 2013 at the ExCel London last week and as ever it is a must see experience for anyone who is working within the stone industry. The one thing that has become so noticeable each year when I visit is the increase in computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing. There was even a miniature version of ‘Big Ben’ to marvel over, being carved by a robot out of statuary marble.

On return to the studio it got me wanting to develop drawings using software on the computer. I wanted the prints to have a very digital and manufactured feel to them and they have opened up other possibilities for designing sculptures.

Object 2. 'Lumbar'

'Lumbar', 2013. Dimensions: 30 cm x 17 cm x 12 cm

Within the study of biology, knowing the structure of something does not necessarily reveal its function. Comparing this idea to sculpture and my exploration of the 'stone tool artefact', I wanted to develop this idea of 'structure and function' and play with this biological theory, that it is unlikely to identify the function of something with only structural information. This small portland stone carving is a playful experiment with this notion where there appears to have been a previous function or a usefulness to the object / artefact. The viewer is presented with the limitation of possibilities in the sculpture rather than the adaptive honing of perfection in an structure which is a dominant theme in biological evolution.

Object 1. Hammerstone

  

 

Following on with the theme of the ‘archaeological stone tool artefact’, ‘Hammerstone’ is a small, highly polished piece of Purbeck Marble fixed upon a Portland Limestone base.

 

 

 

  'Hammerstone', 2013. Dimensions: 13 cm x 29.5 cm x 10 cm

Black Axe

The origins of this small carving has been the product of cutting and reusing a small part of a larger stone to then form part of another composition. This idea was not successful and the evolution of the stone took on another guise. Before finally deciding on its purpose the journey of the stone reminded me of the apocryphal story of 'Washington's Axe' or 'My Grandfathers Axe' which is where the title originates. This is a paradoxical story about the famous axe which belonged to George Washington and how its handle and head had been replaced several times by a variety of owners, therefore bringing into question if the object still held the same identity, value and meaning. This has started me thinking about working on a series of small carvings, which I will show over the next few weeks titled 'Objects of Desire'. These carvings will be in a variety of different stones and may suggest that they are components from other artefacts.

   'Black Axe', 2013. Dimensions: 13 cm x 8.5 cm x 24 cm