The sun sometimes shines

The garden exhibition at Quebec Street enjoyed some sun at last! A good chance for visitors to sit over sculptures, tea and cakes........ Open for two more May weekends.

May Exhibition

Woodcarvings in the Garden    Brighton Festival 2012
Artists' Open Houses         Hanover Art Trail

See my carvings displayed in the old laundry garden at: 20 Quebec Street, Brighton, BN2 9UZ, as part of a group exhibition. Open May weekends, 11 - 6pm. Enjoy Tea and Cakes in a lovely setting while you are there!

O

Old Chief    (oak)

Smiley the celeb

This piece is being used on flyers etc to advertise a garden exhibition including my work, as part of the Brighton Festival in May. He is carved out of a large slab of Western Hemlock, the tree, not the poison they used on poor Socrates. After I had carved him I was stuck for a title, at last settling on "Smiley". Several people commented that he resembled the beautiful carved faces at Angkor Vat. Later that year a friend returned from a holiday in the Far East, and gave me a lovely souvenir book with many pictures. The text was written in pigeon english, and I was very surprised to see that the carved face most resembling my Smiley, is entitled "Smiling of Bayon". I guess a smile is a smile the world over.

The Bone People

This group of small carvings are worked from the dead branches of a Mexican Orange tree. The wood is delightful, soft and pale but very sound. I think of the scrimshaw carvings eskimos and sailors of old would make on bones and tusks. I shall carve more before exhibiting them. I like that, after the initial chiselling in the studio, I can work them with a hand knife on my lap in the evenings, with the telly on. I also am quite excited by the suggestive shapes already there. The standing chap with the outstretched fist I realise now, is exactly like a laying figure in the bottom left corner of Guernica.

My worthy assistant

I thought you may like to see my assistant, who makes useful comments from his window seat in my studio! His name is Rothko, but he is far from depressed.

Joseph and Juliet best pics

next project - small angel

Now I am working on a project for my friend Dave Fry, who supplies my wood. He gave me this Y shaped old  piece of oak, and asked me to find an angel in it.