I firmly believe that creating art can assist in problem solving, communication, expression and externalisation of internal issues and conflicts. It can also provide a powerful and necessary release. For me, art making is about transforming emotions and experiences into creative energy, which is a cathartic and healing experience in itself. Just the act of being deeply engaged in the work brings a sense of soothing and a release of tensions and frustrations.
I try to abstract the forms so that only the essential gestures and poses remain, all other details superfluous to the aesthetic. Each piece is unique and has a purpose to serve, a job to do, and, therefore, I never replicate anything - it simply wouldn’t ‘work’. All my works are hand-crafted from solid, natural materials. The process of transposing my spiritual or emotional imagery into a 3-dimensional physical form demands this. I utilise only a variety of chisels, rasps, rifflers, files and, finally, sandpaper.
Today I sculpt mostly, but not exclusively, in stone: Welsh slate, soapstone, alabaster & marble. My choice of media depends heavily upon my mood or the subject matter of any given piece, although I generally utilise softer stone for the more beautiful, spiritual, forms and harder stones for the more graphically emotional works.
