The Spirit of Drawing week-end workshop.Bristol Drawing School.Royal West Academy.

Re-engaging with drawing materials and taking a line for a walk (Klee)..drawing without analysis..but responding to shape, mapping patterns and form and shape. By the end of the two days I was ready to DRAW!

..and on the strength of this I am planning to run a workshop or two based on the same ` get in touch with your creativity ` ethos..and offer uninterrupted time to play..

Finally resolved this piece.. started a year ago..

I enjoy the journey and struggle to resolution, learning a huge amount from the creation of this piece..although direct carving is exciting, it requires forethought and planning.. to create a balanced and pleasing form.

I was  a little unclear from the start, although I had created a maquette (which was too complex, I now realise) 

My original idea therefore needed to evolve, which is a necessary part of the journey, but tested my ability to simplify and adapt the developing form.

I am fairly satisfied with the resulting Nautilus.

Indulge yourself in the silence of concentration.It does not matter whether you draw,paint,sculpt well..there is a certain kind of private space you slip into...

`you do not choose your subjects, it is more that they sit in your mind waiting to claim you`

Direct carving (Brancusi)

Final form evolves through the process of carving- truth to materials. Simple forms.

May 2011 Discovered Stone. Five glorious days tuition with, Richard Renshaw, Kate Sempel, and Will and Lottie O`Leary..
I was welcomed into the `expansive world of stone`, and advised to aim for `cerebral depth, and meaningful narrative`
Always inspired by Rodin, Hepworth and Moore, I now enjoy Brancusi, and Gill..

Gill said of Stone..`Stonecarving is conceiving things in stone.The type shape and hardness of the original piece of stone determines not only the form, but also the mood and feeling. Stone won`t be forced! The idea is shaped as much by the stone, as by the idea. It is a collaboration of constant backwards and forwards interplay between the mind and the stone...the carving process reveals the innate quirks and characteristics innate in each new block of stone.Equally frustrating and exciting!`