I discovered stone carving at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and in September 2020 I took the plunge and after 40 years following a career in the commercial world I left my job to throw myself wholeheartedly into sculpture.

I owed it to myself having decided at school to park my artistic abilities to “return to later in life”. Creativity is a gift and it would be remiss of me to just dabble as a hobby and not to make the most of it.

As a sculptor I’m constantly experimenting, trying new materials, learning new skills and exploring new creative ideas to develop my artistic practice. What I have learned is that carving stone is my true passion and it's the heart and soul of most of what I make. Getting lost for hours in the rhythms of carving using tools that have been used for centuries is a pure joy. The stone's hardness, colour, texture and imperfections dictate a lot of the creative process either as a block I impart my ideas upon or as a unique stone that guides my ideas.

I've had some formal training at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and in Pietrasanta, Italy with the Marble Workshop but I'm mainly self-taught. In 2024 I spent October at Tre Luci Studios in Pietrasanta fully immersing myself in the world of sculpture and stone carving. Magical!

Before discovering stone carving I used to take photos as my primary creative passion and many moons ago I used to paint in oils in the 1990s and have carved wood on and off since then but not to any real degree. I've included some of my old work here as a record.

Thanks for looking at my work

Steve
Stockport, United Kingdom