The sculptures that I have been working on for Caernarfon castle over the past 2 years or so have been completed and installed. The stone sculptures are inspired by the craftsmen who would have worked on the castle, one of the finest examples of its type, built in the middle ages. On entering the castle, you will first see the Master Builders hands. Constructed and carved from 20 pieces of sandstone, the bands of stone replicating the stripes of red and buff coloured stone that Caernarfon castle was constructed with hundreds of years ago. Initially weighing 14 tonnes, the complex sculpture, ba ..read more

Donington manor repairs Most of my work over many years has been the creation of large scale public art sculpture. Predominantly these sculptures have been in carved stone although occasionally in glass and concrete. Over the years I have taught myself some of the fine arts of working stone including designing and carving letters and carrying out some very tricky stone masonry projects. When a lorry baked into the 250 year old pillar cap on the wall of the Donington Manor Hotel in Leicestershire, the stone shattered into a dozen pieces and was deemed irreparable. I was asked to visit the damag ..read more

I am making good progress on my latest giant stone sculpture. The sculpture takes the form of a giant pair of hands. It weighs in the region of around 8 tonnes having weighed in at a whopping 14 tonnes when it was delivered to my Leicestershire workshop in December. Despite the dreadful storms over the last couple of weeks, conditions have generally been good for working outdoors. I started work on the hands, firstly by making a 1:10 scale model, also in stone although I sometimes make these in clay. From that I was able to project up onto the full sized stone blocks and was confidently able t ..read more

I have just taken delivery of a number of blocks of stone which together will help to create a new giant sculpture. The blocks of buff and red sandstone are assembled in layers but will be carved into one huge artwork measuring 3m x 2m x 1m high.  The total weight on delivery was probably around 16 tonnes but I anticipate it to be about half of that on completion. Work on the new giant sculpture should take 2 to 3 months but as ever, it is always tricky to judge how long something like this might take. This will be the largest sculpture that I have worked on. The biggest single piece prio ..read more

10 years of sculptures at the National Memorial Arboretum. In 2011, I was approached by a lovely elderly gentleman called Harry Parkes. He asked if I would be prepared to make a memorial to the Bevin Boy miners which would be sited at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Harry had been a former Bevin Boy and was frustrated at the lack of recognition the Bevin Boys had received following their conscription to work down the pits by Lord Bevin during WWII. The goal, to have a memorial to all the men who gave years of toil, and in many cases their lives, to the war effort. This was th ..read more

400th Memorial Unveiled The 400th memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, for the Naafi, was unveiled this week. I have been working on the Naafi memorial at my workshop over the last few months and last week it was installed and and dedicated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. I hadn’t been aware until a few days beforehand that it was to be the 400th memorial at the prestigious location. The Naafi (Navy, Army and Airforce Institutes) for whom my own Grandmother served at Haggeston Castle during the 2nd World War, provided catering facilities for all of the armed forces ..read more

The railway sculpture that I have been working on for a couple of months is due to be installed in the coming weeks. The stone sculpture, carved in relief weighs 5 tonnes, is almost 2m high and 2m wide. Inspiration for the artwork was taken from Leighton Buzzard light railway where the volunteers have sought to keep the track operating since it’s demise as a commercial line when it formerly served to move gravel and sand from local quarries. The railway is now a popular tourist attraction and operates out of a small station and railway sheds near the town centre. The stone sculpture depicts 2 ..read more

Soroptimist Memorial installed The Soroptimist Memorial that I have been working on over the last year or so was finally installed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire last week. It celebrates the wonderful work of Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland. The memorial features a cylindrical carved stone plinth with women from all over the world joining arms and holding hands. The women are young, old, little and large and their dress indicates that they are from countries far and wide, displaying the diversity of the Soroptimist organisation. One of the key goals of ..read more

In 2016, I was approached by the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment and asked to help with the design and construction of a memorial that was to commemorate all those who served in their Regiment. They were very specific, the memorial was to be situated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and dedicated on the 23rd of March 2020. So the memorial underwent a lengthy design process, finalising the intricate details that were so important to the Regiment and ensuring that the memorial was eye catching and informative. We settled on the design, secured approval from the National Memorial A ..read more

8 Stone carvings in the Heathlands in the South Downs in Sussex and Hampshire The carvings in the Heathlands that I completed last year have finally been unveiled. The 8 sandstone sculptures celebrate the unique flora and fauna of these amazing locations in the South of England. The carvings include a Field Cricket, a grass snake, slow worm, sand lizard and the “sheep pig” inspired by a primitive drawing on a 17th century map. You can locate the 8 sculptures by following the sculpture trail map available from the South Downs National Park Centre in Midhurst in Sussex or by following this link ..read more