the making process

For fifteen years all of my work in stone was always hand carved, which was a time consuming activity. Although I still like to carve with hammer and chisels my making process has changed direction. 

I presently use stencil techniques which can be used for a wide range of different applications. The process is relatively quick and enables large amounts of hands on involvement, at every stage, for people of all ages and abilities.

Hand drawn images are scanned into a computer programme that then turns the single lines into outlines. A machine called a plotter cutter, which is like a printer that has a blade instead of ink, can then cut out these designs. The scale of the original work can be greatly changed as can the actual stencil material to suit various applications.

The festival and parade banners I work with are adapted from transparent vinyls, which are normally used to create the effect of stained glass on windows. I use this vinyl for both indoor and outdoor situations.

Stone stencil rubber is cut exactly the same way as the other vinyl. The rubber is placed onto stone and acts as a resist during grit blasting. This means that large amounts of surface area can be delicately engraved with exact marks and gestures made by many people.

Grit blasting simply means using an air compressor to force blasting material through a hose and onto a stone surface. Where rubber is placed onto a surface the grit will bounce off, as a resist, and where the stone is exposed the grit will eat into the surface.

For every large project I am involved with I try to temporarily relocate my studio, to a suitable space in that locality, to enable people to see the whole process.