Sunday 19 May 2013

A new start

I started a new carving today. The preparations for On Form are more or less complete and it was time for a new start. It is easy to spend time worrying about which direction to head in, which avenue of my work to pursue. This time I simply fetched a block of Onyx from the pile in the field and split it in two. The block had a serious fault line running through it; so serious that I could not ignore it. The carving would not only have had a very serious scar through it but would almost certainly have broken in two before I had finished. Experience has led me to always start by cutting away any bad stone before starting. This process is quite liberating as the infinite number of options are reduced to something less overwhelming as the block becomes a specific shape. I have started on a carving that employs the ‘bent alkathene pipe joint’. This is a device for articulating a joint that I first employed during my 100 day series, which derived from the observation of blue plastic pipe. Farmers will often bend the pipe back on itself and fasten it with a piece of string to act as a temporary tap. It seems like a good place to start a new series of work. I have an exhibition at John Martin gallery in the autumn.

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