Do you master any specific techniques?
My skills in carving are not limited to wood. I trained to work in clay, wax, bronze, resin, plaster. I also specialise in ornamental styles, patterns and techniques used throughout the centuries. This allows me to reproduce missing or damaged pieces during restoration work.
Where do you find your inspiration?
When I first began carving ‘lace’, I was deeply inspired by Grinling Gibbons. I am also fascinated by the micro-carving movement of the 15th century and by the Italian Renaissance artists Raphael, Michelangelo and Ghiberti, along with modern European lacemakers.
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How do you blend tradition and innovation?
I work with traditional hand tools: a time consuming tradition that produces the best results. Innovation comes from how I have pushed these traditional methods to the very edge, creating wood sculptures so thin and intricate that you believe you’re looking at real lace.
What do you love most about your work?
The feeling of my sharpened gouge in my hands, running it through the wood to remove the excess and find my sculpture beneath. I love to step back after hundreds of hours of work to see the final result: wood transformed into the most delicate lacework.