The last two months have been spent working on the granite version of ‘Autumn’, its come out ok, i still want to change things alittle, but it was ready intime for its placement at Pelham house,lewes, for Artwave in September.

I have had one other exhibition since the open hoses, at Rottingdean just out side of Brighton. This went ok, good feedback as with the open houses, the financial part is being a bit slow in comming, but its only been 4 months, so i’m hopefull.

The next project is a lifesize female carving, based on the garden commission shown in my portfolio, i never had the chance to take this carving quite as far as i wanted, I’ve secured the use of a life model, just need the cash to pay her. And not to forget, the gypsy stone is in place and ready for the next stage, i’m working on the model at the moment.

My next promotional leg is underway, I’m hoping to have work placed in some of the more well known sculpture gardens in the south east, for next summer.

The symposium in india is looming, and more and more interest is being voiced in it. In the comming weeks i will be setting aside time to help with the organisation:

http://pallawa2011.wordpress.com

Anyone with any ideas for funding oppertunities in india please contact me.

So I’m here now, had a lucky landing, met a stone carver who has had to stop work for a few months due to ill health, managed to haggle his studio for a low rent. So have started work. The weather has not been so friendly, but by now I should be used to working under tarpaulin in the mud.

I’m still way behind on the promotional side of my work, I have a kind of mental block when it comes to self promotion, and normally end up running to my studio to continue the carvings rather than anything ‘desk’ based…

Still I have some portraits to do, which is a bit of a god send, as you can imagine, life here is a little more expensive than in the sticks.

Myself and three other old friends have taken on my house to be used for  an Open House, in may 2010. I’m nervous about it, and have the same niggling feeling that I don’t have enough work… I do have the quantity, but as my work improves I question the quality of the pervious works. Still you have to start some where.

Please look through my work at your leisure and make any constructive comments or suggestions.

ref pictures…. the portraits are comming on, still some studies to do, on structure, bones, muscles etc…

the Elephants were done asa joint project between myself and DV Murugan of Tamil Nadu, its a design taken from Anjunas penance, Mamallapuram… To be placed in a garden in the south east, the final details will be carved in pleace, sorry for the quality of the photos, i will update as i can….

an of course my tarp palace, new home… little cold at the mo, and am spending a bit too much time reparing it after the wind and rain attempts to dismantle it almost every week…

there is an update photo on the garden sculpture, she has had her hips narrowed and is now almost complete, i’m not letting her go till im totally happy with her, or maybe the lessons learnt are for the next peice?

As for my work, well is still there, i’m having to move back to the south east, for money reasons, so ends the 8 months of concentrated carving in sunny somerset, its been great, but i need some life balance, before insanity sets in for good…

I’ll upload photos when they come through.

DV Murugan is visiting the uk for a couple of months, as soon as his visas have been sorted… I wish i could direct you to his web site, but its down for now, worth a look in a few weeks when its back up…. www.Dvmurugan.com

My house is filling up with rock, i’ve got to start looking for an exhibition… where to start?… my work is all over the place, from letter cutting to bloody coffee tables?!, none of which will get me the dust of a door mat of a gallery… still… ‘stick to ya guns!!’… my mantra!

the other works, the bronze banana, well this is a bit of fun really,one of my friends fell head over heels in love with a french woman in india. he gave her jewels and silver, trinkets and even a love hart, i got the distinct impression she didnt feel the same, on parting she gave him a banana!… for some reason this occasion stuck with me?

the other work, i’m developing my portraiture, in the vain hope of finding a method of making money at this game…. it had better happen soon!

as for the rest, bills bills bills, stone dust and guiness!

More letter cutting, its a private joke apparently, still my letter cutting is improving….

as side from work, bills, and a few hours wondering why i came home for the resession, fretting about exhibitions, money money money!!!

Time for a drink, stop m head from spinning…..

any body want any sculpture? carving? bronzes? ….. odd jobs?

I would have loved to hunt a stone that suggests a form and follow that freely, but this process can take time and end with nothing but a pile of rubble. One of the lessons i’ve learnt since returning, is to limit the time in relation to the money you can earn, (an un welcome reality), so the surest way i know of this, is to make a clay model, cast it in plaster , get the go ahead from the customer, and then start the carving. The carving can evolve from the model, and i think it should, the stone has to make a difference, each stone has its own characteristics and it would be a shame to just impose a design without allowing for the stone to have its say.

so i’ll post some photos, the main form is roughed out, currently she looks like a fatter version of the final work, and the face… well, this will be the most important carving of the work, it sets the caricature, and will effect final the result, simplistic beauty is what i’m looking for.

As for the stone, Portland lime stone is a welcome releif from granite carving, it is great to carve, i’m always nervous about its strength, but i guess thats a side effect of learning with granite, possibly not the best stone to learn on.

This off cut, and most are off cuts, as the cost of sawn stone is astronomical, but a pit fall of this is the stone can throw up various shells and fossils that can cause difficulties, this stone has done just that, at the weakest point in the stone, there is a bed of shells, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but the stone around the shells is like cottage cheese and just falls away under the tools used. I have been advised its not a problem and i can use white cement with stone dust to make any pits and holes unrecognisable on the final surface…. i hope this is true, otherwise it will be a months work wasted…

Having been informed of this site by a good friend, i will attempt to depict the  pits and highs of trying to work as a sculptor in the UK.

My Starting point, is as a totally unknown artist, my last exhibition as a student was over ten years ago in a small cafe in London. The last ten or so years have been spent surviving, traveling, attempting to start businesses and all the usual life passing activities.

My new focus on sculpture started with a life changing moment in India in 2004, its not important what it was, needless to say it was something to do with a very big wave on boxing day. This re aligned my thinking, from spending 14hrs a day sat in front of a pc, attempting to keep up with the world for web design and pc maintenance, earning next to nothing, to thinking,  i may as well follow my dream and still possibly earn nothing, but gain a sense of satisfaction at the end of each day that far out weighs the headaches and stresses, back pains, strained eyes and generally depleting health involved in my attempt at becoming the next Bill Gates.

Having studied with the traditional Indian granite carvers in Tamil Nadu, south India for three years, i feel its time to return to the uk and try to sell my work so far, and build a customer base for future works.

I have a few short falls to overcome, ok, more than a few, i find it almost impossible to write about my work, the reasons for it, why i do it and what communicates, i’d love to be in a place where my work speaks for its self and theres no need to dissect the processes and explain myself, but this isnt what the arts funding authorities nor possible galleries etc want from an imerging artist. In fact the only thing i have going for me is this seemingly unshakable addiction to stone carving.

On my return to the UK, after the initial shock, I’ve landed in Somerset, in a great house, which i cant afford, in a great village, in which i know nobody, i do have a small space rented from a local quarry in which i can make the noise and create the dust needed to continue this vocation.

So i’m in a familiar place to other artist i’ve spoken to, you spend all your time doing the work, and have none left for the promotion, selling,and exhibiting of the final pieces. I’m lucky enough to have scrounged some small commissions, brilliant to further my skills and even bring a little money, but these have taken valuable time away from my own work, and so pushed the opportunity of exhibiting a comprehensive body of work further away.

This blog will depict the hours i spend doing and thinking about my work, the attempts i make at promotions and exhibitions, and generally my current thinking during all this.