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I have been having a little explosion of creativity this year. The squirrel and acorn, and the Airedale terrier pictured in the Leeds Castle exhibition on the Home Page, were two, and more recently I have modified my PEONY design to create this pair.
The lovely thing about the peony, as a flower, is that generous bowl of dense petals: not so intense as a rose, but full of detail and a very characteristic shape. It’s a lot of work to create all the layers, but I’m very happy with the result.
New in November 2025
I have borrowed some of the techniques developed for the hop bine sculptures, but adjusted for the different shape and arrangement of the vine leaves; and the grapes represent a significant new technique, using new doming and beating tools I have had specially made. I’m absolutely delighted with the result. The price is still to be decided.
A recent commission: many of you will be aware I’m a daft basset owner. (Not sure if ‘daft’ applies to the dogs or to me.) There are basset groups all over the country, and the two members of the Kent Basset Waddle group asked me to create a sculpture portrait of their two. This is the result:
I know both dogs well, having taken part in waddles with them previously, but I was working mainly from the photographs shown.
I have also redesigned and updated my Geese. As previously, there are two poses.
A new design for an old favourite, my small heart sculpture. At only 6 inches across it’s tricky getting enough detail while still keeping visual space to make it look delicate and uncluttered. I’m very pleased with the finished design, and I think they’ll make great wedding, anniversary or birthday gifts.
I have added stars to embellish the wreath and circlet collection.
A new small mushroom trio, at £165 each. Each group comes out differently to the next with different shapes and colours of the tops.
Variations on a Hop Bine
I created a section of curling hop bine a few years ago as a commission, and have since developed that into the more or less complex forms which can be seen in the main gallery. Then, two years ago, I was commissioned to create a large piece to add interest and beauty to an otherwise plain concrete wall in the Sensory Garden at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, as seen below. The new piece, created in October 2023, is a small, simple yet elegant twist of hop bine, and I’m very pleased that this has managed to capture the essence of the larger pieces: natural sculptural shape, colour, delicacy.
The new twist:
The previous versions:
The new twists are still quite fiddly and delicate to make, but well worth the time and effort.
Echinacea: simple, instantly recognisable, adding height
Blossom branch: delicate colour
At last: my Fox appears
Usually, the opportunity to research and create a completely new piece is exciting and delightful.
Sometimes, however… It’s a struggle. Not everything comes out right first time. In the case of the fox, it still didn’t come anywhere near right even on the SIXTH attempt, spread over about eight years. In 2022 however I had another go and at last: there he is.
A new flower: a tree peony.
This started off with the intention of being a smaller simple flower; but from experimentation with a few frilly petal designs we grew to this four-feet-tall extravagance.
I will manage a smaller simple flower one day.
Created especially for a very special young lady – with 18 shiny stars, and lots of love.
Beetroot! Do you love the colours? I really enjoyed this one. When they really come to life, it’s actually hard to imagine that this was a part of the side of a hot-water cylinder at the start of last week.
Click on any picture to see the detailed image.
– and then… carrot!
Isn’t that fun?
New equipment in the workshop has made this level of detail possible at affordable prices for the first time. Expect more developments as I explore further.
Having created the two above which work well as individual pieces, I wanted a way to bring them all together, so we add a leek, and then…
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A recent commission piece: a lionfish. This flamboyant reef-pest demands attention: he cruises about, flaunting his outrageous costume and generally having a good time at the expense of native species. Fortunately he’s good eating, once the poisonous spines are removed, and spear fishers are happy to help the ecology by catching them.
A re-design of my leaping fish: now with a wavy support which is more organic and still allows movement in the breeze. Single fish, small groups, or larger shoals of assorted sizes all work well; and you can have fun redsigning your arrangement as your garden changes shape during the season.
Another fairly recent piece, originally as a commission: a pearl-bearing clam-shell, either open or with a raised lid. (I know that pearls really grow in oysters, not clams, but oysters are ugly shapes.) Do you have a pearl anniversary coming up? Or could you see this on your window-sill at home, catching the sunlight? The Dictionary of Symbolism tells me “The pearl is a symbol of perfection and incorruptibility; it is a symbol of long life and fertility, and because of its luster it is often considered a moon symbol. Buried within the shell, the pearl represents hidden knowledge, and it is highly feminine.”
Rose Bouquet collection
Prize Trout
The Wild Rose: first new major work in 2020
My WILD ROSE dominated my time in February and March in the first Covid lock-down. It is a full two metres tall and over a metre across, and contains fully-open flowers, opening blooms and buds; the leaves in contrasting colour catch the light, adding lustre and shape.
I know it’s not technically a ‘wild rose’ – which has a bush shape and smaller simpler flowers – but the spirit of this piece is so extravagant and vigorous, it seemed the right name.
I love the sense of depth – you really need to walk around the sculpture to appreciate the this and the open space within.
As with all my work, all the colour comes from heating and quenching the copper – no chemicals or additives are used, except lacquer to preserve the colours.
A new commission: a wire-haired dachshund. As dogs dachshunds have enormous character – they are bigger on the inside than on the outside, and I think it shows in the sculpture.
I got a little sidetracked from what I was going to be making one day in February and made this little rose bud. I love being able to just follow inspiration wherever it leads; it often produces wonderful results.
Recently under development: ants. I have been playing around with variations here, and the bee has dropped in to remind me what I did when making him. The ants are different in character: more mechanical and robotic, and I think we have attained that. The final designs can be seen in the Main Gallery or the Ants and Bugs collection in the Subject Galleries.
