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/