Sadly there are only so many pictures of enormous rocks in early stages of carving one can post without it becoming a little tedious, so in an effort to break up the monotony, here is a photo of my son on his virtual bike. One day, I might even buy him a real one.
On your bike!
January 26th, 2012 § 0
Chip chip.
January 22nd, 2012 § 0
Steady progress on the sculpture, the shape gradually getting refined. Unfortunately the area surrounding the sculpture is beginning to look like the surface of the moon as a result of all the grey dust! Can you tell what it is yet ?
Tesco sculpture well underway
January 12th, 2012 § 0
Having split the 2 giant boulders into manageable pieces, I have stacked them up ready for shaping further. Suddenly the whole thing seems enormous. The next few weeks will be spent with angle grinders, slowly refining the shape. It is a nasty, dusty business but hopefully worth it in the long run.
Splitting headache.
January 8th, 2012 § 0
Me and my new best friend from Kilkenny
Last week was a tough physical challenge, drilling into the hard Kilkenny limestone so that plugs and feathers and can be inserted into it for splitting. Following that, it was angle grinders to cut large chunks off the blocks. Another couple of similar weeks coming up too until the stones are closer to the final shape. Thankfully the weather is forecast mild so at least I do not have the sort of conditions that tortured me last winter to contend with. Currently the stones are seperate but I intend to get one on top of the other this week, giving a height of around 3m for the finished piece. It seems unlikely looking at the picture but is should be ready by the end of next month. Mmmmm.
A break from carving, not a broken carving.
January 1st, 2012 § 0
Happy New Year to you all. I have made sure to take a good few days off over the Christmas period so that my batteries are fully charged for what is sure tobe a busy period. Just before I broke up, the stone arrived from Kilkenny for the “Miners grip” sculpture in Bedworth. Once more, my Irish colleagues have added “a little bit extra” to make my life fun in Janurary, getting the stone to roughly the shape it needs to be. My friend at the quarry in Kilkenny always says “Sure its better for the stone to be too big than too small” and it is hard to argue with that. I am hoping that I will be able to drill into the over size blocks and split them to the approximate sizes I need. I will post pics of the work as it progresses.
Someone elso who might need a hand.
December 18th, 2011 § 0
Good to see cricketing legend Phil Tufnell turning his hand (subtle cricket joke) at ice carving on BBC’s “The One Show” the other night. It reminded me of my failed application to carve one of the suites in the Ice hotel in Sweden earlier this year. It would have been a great opportunity and I fully intend to pester them until they let me have a go. Mind you, I am sitting writing this blog sipping lemsip under a cosy duvet watching the snow falling outside, I think I will have to “man up” a little.
Cold but fun, maybe next year.
I have got some stone arriving on Monday from Kilkenny for my latest big project in Bedworth near Nuneaton. The sculpture will stand 3 metres tall and is based around a miners grip, some former coal miners from the local pits have kindly volunteered their services as “grip” modellers and I will be off to see them this week as their grip around a pick axe handel is going to be the starting point for the sculpture. I will put more pics up when the stone arrives.
Sir Bobby Robson Memorial garden wins award.
December 6th, 2011 § 0
The Sir Bobby Robson Memorial Garden has won a commendation for landscape design after finishing as runner up at the Lord Mayors Design Awards in Newcastle. The sculpture that was installed in May formed the focal point of the garden so I am delighted that it has been recognised, many congratulations to landscape architect Richard Barnes who was the brains behind transforming the formerly derelict waste ground into a comemorative and contemplative space.
On a seperate note, a couple of people have remarked on the fact that Gary Speed’s name is carved on the top of the memorial. Across all 5 stones were carved the names of some of the great players that Sir Bobby Robson played with and managed. Desperately sad but he will be fondly remembered in Newcastle.
Chaos in the Park
December 2nd, 2011 § 0
As I was in Chesterfield last week, I dropped by in on a sculpture that I made a few years back in Stand Road Park. It is carved from a Pink Sandstone is one of the larger single blocks of stone that I have tackled weighing in at a whopping 9 tonnes. I worked with local kids to decide what the figures on the piece should be upto and the results included sporting activities as well as fighting, dog walking and sketboarding etc. Time has served it well and it has weathered in all the right places while the vandals seemed to have stayed clear too.
Just a reminder also that anyone wishing to buy a stone carving course for a Christmas present can do so by e-mailing me their details so that I can provide a voucher in plenty of time. There are more details about the stone carving weekends at my website at www.chisel-it.co.uk
Sculpture installed successfully.
November 25th, 2011 § 0
The installation of the artwork for Hollingwood near Chesterfield went smoothly yesterday. The piece stands at the entrance to a new housing development and reflects the change of the village from its mining and industrial beginnings through to its gradual transformation where trees and wildlife return. The piece is carved from Peak Moor Sandstone and is about 2 metres tall.
On a seperate note, I have had some enquiries about stone carving courses as Christmas presents. I am happy to provide a voucher that can be given as a gift. This can be redeemed on any one of the stone carving weekends that I arrange during 2012. The course costs £170 for the weekend and most people will take away a completed stone sculpture at the end of it. The next courses are likley to be in the Spring. There are more details on my main website at www.chisel-it.co.uk
November 23rd, 2011 § 0
It has been a quiet few days at the workshop, I have been finishing the Chesterfield sculpture which I am installing tomorrow and also preparing for my next big project which is going to be a 3 metre tall piece for a redeveloped Tesco site in Bedworth, Warwickshire. It will be carved in Kilkenny Limestone and is due to be installed in February next year, the stone should be arriving from Ireland in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I have a few smaller commissions to keep me busy including this carved oak sign for Williams Yard in Melbourne, Derbyshire. Although I designed the font, I was aided with the carving by my good friend Richard Perry who has sharper wood carving chisels than I do. It certainly enhances the arch of the new development. I will post pics of the Chesterfield sculpture later this week.