Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to you all, and may you enjoy

the best Christmas present ever;

 the endless, bountiful, unconditional love of God

through Jesus Christ.

Portsmouth Cathedral Plaque

The finished Portland stone plaque for Portsmouth cathedral, to be installed early 2012

A view of the studio

A collage of myself at work in the studio. Photo's by Helen Smith at Reflectionz Photography.

Jacob Bronowski

I was recently asked to carve the inscription on the Portland stone plinth for the bust of Jacob Bronowski now situated in Jesus College, Cambridge.

This excellent bust was sculpted by Robert Hunt, Honorary Secretary of the Society of Portrait Sculptors and cast in Bronze by Talos Foundry.

My initial rough layout of the inscription and a 'clean' version which was then transferred onto the stone.

With a sheet of carbon paper underneath my drawing, I simply trace the design onto the stone. Often I prefer to draw letters directly onto the stone, in this instance however it was helpful to first set out the inscription on paper so that Robert Hunt could approve the position and layout of the lettering.

Carving the inscription at Talos Foundry, Project Workshops.

My hands at work!

The finished inscription.

And finally...

Here is Henry Gray setting special fixings into the stone, carefully aligning the bronze bust in the Talos Foundry workshop. The bust is wrapped and slung so that it can be carefully lifted and lowered into position by hoist.

Jacob Bronowski, by Robert Hunt, safe and secure shortly before his trip to Jesus College, Cambridge. There the bust was unveiled and received with adulation.

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Boy Sailors Memorial Newsletter

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=3363282&da=y

Follow the above link to view the newsletter outlining the boy sailors memorial stone for Portsmouth cathedral I've been working on. This gives details of the dedication service for 2012 as well as an update on the project.

A new memorial

I've just started carving a new memorial headstone from a lovely piece of Portland stone, shown below the design...

...and the initial carving, roughing out the shape.

Blessed are they that mourn

A close up from an unusual angle of my letter carving in Portland stone, painted bright blue!

'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted'