The design process

The process of creating a sculpture can vary depending on whether I am working from a design or whether I decide to work intuitively and go with the flow. Sometimes I am excited to carve a design I have sketched and find a piece of stone that will fit it’s shape, other times I will walk around a stone quarry and find a piece of rock that I resonate with - I then can’t wait to see what intuitively comes to me.

Free Carving

I especially love free carving when I have a raw piece of stone with rough edges to work from or a boulder. Examples of these pieces can be seen in Tears of Gaia, Pearl, Anja, Relique, Efflorescence and Freedom. These are possibly the most challenging and the most exciting as I initially don’t know what will evolve - but a design normally comes to me relatively quickly. They tend to become organic abstract forms, although the horse design also appeared very quickly after acquainting myself with the stone.

‘Relique’ was carved from a stunning piece of translucent Alabaster from the remote Aragon region in Spain. I found it battered and bruised yet I absolutely loved it. Relique means something ancient yet treasured, which is exactly how I felt about this piece of stone and the design that came from it. It is a very simple design but I felt the rock itself was so beautiful that it didn’t need a complex design.

‘Tears of Gaia’ was carved from an unusual stone from the Atlas mountains, it is partly soapstone yet with areas of an incredibly hard metallic like rock. I carved her whilst in Morocco and the design for me was already in the rock. The name which came to me was self explanatory, the raw appearance of the stone to me represented the ‘battering’ our planet has endured, yet her beauty still emanating and her resilience so inspiring. For those who know me, know how passionately I feel about nature - it is both inspiring and healing to me. I have to be immersed in her daily, whether it be an early morning dog walk in the forest or a dive in the ocean. I see every part of nature as sacred and integral and I absolutely treasure its beauty.

'Pearl and Efflorescence' changed form slightly throughout the process to finally become very symbolic of a an opening bud or Yoni. To me the energy or essence of these pieces is a reminder to honour the very core of the feminine - the light and the birthing of life. For me they also represented the need to open up fully, to not be afraid of showing one’s light to the world.

Would I have ever drawn these intuitively carved designs? Possibly yes, but only whilst doodling not necessarily whilst I was thinking of designing a sculpture as these designs tend to have much simpler and often more prominent curves and lines.

Sculptures that are created from my sketched designs.

In my sketchbook I usually start by making a curvaceous line and from this develop it into a flowing or feminine form. Sometimes the design comes straight away and other times I will play around with lines until I am happy. As my work has evolved it has become less fussy - I find creating a simpler design can often be more powerful, as long as the curves and lines are strong enough.

I can also go through what I call ‘inspirational phases’ whereby I create a design that excites me and then am inspired to explore it further - a few designs can then evolve from a concept or unusual component to a sculpture. My three most recent sculptures are indicative of one of these phases. Here the ‘scoup’ where the head is not important to the piece and the form is enough to reflect or portray an emotion or energy.

'Sassy' is undoubtedly cheeky, a true celebration of the beauty of the female form and of her diva qualities! She was a reminder to me of the importance to keep our inner fire and passion ignited.

'Presence' is elegance, a calm inner strength where words are not needed. This calmness and inner confidence is definitely an energy I am always needing to connect with more - being fully in this energy involves deep trust and a deep connection with one’s true self.

'Poised' holds a similar energy - she remains gracefully calm waiting for what is to come. This was such a reflection to what was going on in my own life at the time of creating her, I knew I just had to be there for my sick father - I had to trust in what was to come and couldn’t forge ahead trying to sort my own life, however much I needed it to change. Trust and poise are challenging, especially when one is exhausted mentally and physically or going through challenging times, but they are there in our inner most core if we quieten our minds enough to feel them.

My art is incredibly healing for me, as it is through my work that my inner voice can freely speak. It reflects back to me aspects I am needing to address within myself or express. The names of pieces come to me whilst carving - it is then I can more fully understand the message I am getting from my each piece.I feel so blessed to have found this path, not only to express my truth but it is also through the very physical and mediative process of the carving that I am able to slow down and connect with myself more.

I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into my creative process!

With love

Jo
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