Alarm at five and out by 5.20am; westward-bound to Portland, Dorset and Albion Stone, who have several limestone quarries, the last being restored now and with most of their new block production coming from caverns under the ground. The requirement … Continue reading Sourcing a new stone
From 30th September to 9th October I will be in Herefordshire working on a sculpture responding to the work of The Cart Shed, a charity which uses rural skills in woodlands as a salve for the pressures of life. Working … Continue reading A sculpture responding to the work of The Cart Shed
I was approached to run a course on modelling the torso in clay. I try to keep away from armature use wherever possible just because of the freedom it removes from the sculptor. We must remember that modelling from life is just that – training the eyes to see with greater perception, but resulting in studies of the human form, rather than “sculpture”. It is an essential harvesting exercise for the sculptor that feels they draw upon or use the human form in their creative work. Continue reading “Torso sculpture – consideration of anatomy and armature”
I spent some time with sculptor Alan Thornhill just before Christmas, talking about a work he was re-acquainting himself with, that he created in the early 1970s. Thornhill noted: I first met Colin Davis as he then was at several … Continue reading Portraiture – Alan Thornhill’s study of Colin Davis
When a sculpture is finished and in a permanent home, it becomes responsible for spreading its own message or that which the observer projects onto it. After 15 months consideration of the Slindon landscape, I wondered whether this was enough. … Continue reading A South Downs Year and a sad note
I have taught several courses a year for a decade at West Dean College in the South Downs National Park, former home of Edward James. My new summer school sculpture course is 6 days and accompanies 7-9 other courses over … Continue reading West Dean Sculpture Summer School
Quentin Bell (1910-1996) was the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell and the nephew of Virginia Woolf. In 1964 he was appointed Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University; later, Professor of Art History and Theory at the … Continue reading Quentin Bell, levitating ladies and Goggleboxes
