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My Work: Drawing on principles of the Italian movement Arte Povera (Poor Art) and the ancient Japanese Philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, I create abstract, wall mounted sculptures from discarded pieces of wood, celebrating the value and beauty of the ordinary, imperfect, overlooked and rejected. Rather than investing in high value materials, I give these materials value by investing my time and self in them.

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My Process:  All the wood used in my sculptures has been sourced from our workshop bins and would ordinarily be used as firewood or sent to landfill. So I feel there is a sense of immense satisfaction and inner peace to have realised a new purpose for these materials. The sculptures are not preconceived, but evolve through a process of clearing my mind of all other thought and allowing myself to become engaged with the form, colour and texture of the wooden pieces in front of me. I work with a selection of offcuts, usually Beech, Birch, Oak, Walnut and Tulip Wood (Yellow Poplar), together with MDF and plywood strips. All the detailing you see, such as colour, lettering and other markings are already part of the woods unique character and consequently, each sculpture is a one-off. I may add a clear lacquer to selected elements if I feel it will enhance the composition, but otherwise the pieces are only lightly sanded, allowing that beautiful raw timber scent to eminate, combined with a silky, tactile feel and a patina that will alter over time.

My Background: Trained at the London College of Furniture 1981-1985, I have been a furniture designer for over 40 years, working in the contract furniture sector, designing for many well known restaurants, hotels and bars. Having lost my job, together with a great deal of self confidence as a result of the pandemic, I joined a small workshop that makes wooden chairs and sofa frames for local upholsterers. This change in my working environment has provided an opportunity for me to explore new ways of expressing my creativity and led me to rediscover some of my early influences, in the likes of Mondrian, De-Stijl, Charles Rennie MacIntosh, Memphis Design Group and in particular my lovely College tutor Roger Ackling* (RIP). Rogers philosophy, teaching style and incredible work have had a profound influence on the way I approach design and is clearly evident in my sculptures.

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I hope you enjoy my work and it provides a sense of calm and inner peace for you, just as it has for me.

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*Roger Ackling was a British artist who used the suns rays and a handheld magnifying lens to burn lines into found materials such as driftwood and discarded household items. His life’s work was recently celebrated in a posthumous exhibition entitled ‘Sunlight’ at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds.