Remit
Though I have experimented with man-made materials such as breeze blocks, plaster, and clay, I much prefer to work with natural stone, it has an intrinsic weight, a depth, and an immense history. The original shape and natural beauty of stone as it presents itself to me are important as are the chemical and physical processes that the rock has undergone over the vast periods of geological time of its formation. Stone can of course be inconsistent, it may be very hard, fissile or have softer more weathered areas it may contain other materials such as fossils, and there may also be voids, none of which may be seen from the onset and all of which can make stone difficult to carve, but for me the real satisfaction is derived from my response to those challenges as they arise.
How and where the material was found can for me be an important part of the stones story. It is often with this in mind that I approach my work.
I like to collect the majority of my own material whether it be from an old quarry or whilst beach-combing.
Generally the tools I use are different combinations of electric chisel (woodpecker) angle grinder, hammer, point, chisel, rasp, modeling drill and abrasive pads and papers. The combinations of which will depend on the scale, material, level of detail, degree of abstraction and finish required, I love the sound and sense of rhythm you get when working with a hammer and chisel but will use whatever tools are necessary to suit the material.
Sometimes there will be a particular end result or site for my work in mind, particularly when the piece is to be figurative or perhaps carved from a relatively homogeneous material.
In contrast it is also very satisfying to just look at a piece of stone and start with an abstract idea, this can be the minute you see the stone on the beach, or the result of looking at the rock time and time again, perhaps passing it around in your hand or rotating it on a turntable sometimes over a number of years with it having been sat in your stockpile for that time.
I have in the past struggled with the potential for conflict between the need to please other people on the one hand and satisfying my own artistic ambition on the other, so I have in the past only produced pieces that satisfy my own artistic cravings. For this reason for many years I did not feel able to undertake commissions or produce work for sale. Works I have created for friends and family would often have been made without their prior knowledge so that they could just be given as presents. I am very lucky whilst on the one hand being able to satisfy my own artistic cravings, and also being able to undertake both public and private commissions (see More..., Grey To Green section) especially those that challenge or take my work in a new direction.
Then you do get that eureka moment the idea is by no means fully developed and so it may return to the stockpile until the next problem is resolved and the work can be taken a step further, (fortunately however, unlike when a writer suffers writers block with a book, I have always got many pieces to be working on when carving).
To just see where the stone takes you as you start to carve into it, to smooth it and let it reveal its colour and texture, this for me brings an enormous sense of joy (no kidding!). The sense of the enormity of time, the earth changing processes that have taken place over that time and the sheer beauty of nature as revealed in a piece of stone.
On other pages are a small selection of works of no particular chronology or merit but they do show a range of materials, techniques, ideas and themes some of which I am looking to extend.
In terms of artistic influences, other artists I should say Barbara Hepworth would be the strongest, I have found that some of my pieces bear a striking resemblance to hers, this is incidental as I don't set out to copy or mimic other peoples work (other than the Male Torso which is very much after Igor Mitoraj and was deliberate from the start). Henri Moore, Innuit and modern Zimbabwean soapstone carving have also had an impact upon my work. By far the greatest influence is of course is mother nature herself in all her glory.
Mark Hetherington
How and where the material was found can for me be an important part of the stones story. It is often with this in mind that I approach my work.
I like to collect the majority of my own material whether it be from an old quarry or whilst beach-combing.
Generally the tools I use are different combinations of electric chisel (woodpecker) angle grinder, hammer, point, chisel, rasp, modeling drill and abrasive pads and papers. The combinations of which will depend on the scale, material, level of detail, degree of abstraction and finish required, I love the sound and sense of rhythm you get when working with a hammer and chisel but will use whatever tools are necessary to suit the material.
Sometimes there will be a particular end result or site for my work in mind, particularly when the piece is to be figurative or perhaps carved from a relatively homogeneous material.
In contrast it is also very satisfying to just look at a piece of stone and start with an abstract idea, this can be the minute you see the stone on the beach, or the result of looking at the rock time and time again, perhaps passing it around in your hand or rotating it on a turntable sometimes over a number of years with it having been sat in your stockpile for that time.
I have in the past struggled with the potential for conflict between the need to please other people on the one hand and satisfying my own artistic ambition on the other, so I have in the past only produced pieces that satisfy my own artistic cravings. For this reason for many years I did not feel able to undertake commissions or produce work for sale. Works I have created for friends and family would often have been made without their prior knowledge so that they could just be given as presents. I am very lucky whilst on the one hand being able to satisfy my own artistic cravings, and also being able to undertake both public and private commissions (see More..., Grey To Green section) especially those that challenge or take my work in a new direction.
Then you do get that eureka moment the idea is by no means fully developed and so it may return to the stockpile until the next problem is resolved and the work can be taken a step further, (fortunately however, unlike when a writer suffers writers block with a book, I have always got many pieces to be working on when carving).
To just see where the stone takes you as you start to carve into it, to smooth it and let it reveal its colour and texture, this for me brings an enormous sense of joy (no kidding!). The sense of the enormity of time, the earth changing processes that have taken place over that time and the sheer beauty of nature as revealed in a piece of stone.
On other pages are a small selection of works of no particular chronology or merit but they do show a range of materials, techniques, ideas and themes some of which I am looking to extend.
In terms of artistic influences, other artists I should say Barbara Hepworth would be the strongest, I have found that some of my pieces bear a striking resemblance to hers, this is incidental as I don't set out to copy or mimic other peoples work (other than the Male Torso which is very much after Igor Mitoraj and was deliberate from the start). Henri Moore, Innuit and modern Zimbabwean soapstone carving have also had an impact upon my work. By far the greatest influence is of course is mother nature herself in all her glory.
Mark Hetherington
