What made you change to carving?
When you are a furniture maker, eventually all you do is make boxes, there's no way around that. I was very good at wood carving and when I saw a course at the City & Guilds Art School, I decided to do it. Now, I still work with wood but much more creatively.
Do you have a favourite wood?
I like to use indigenous woods and in England we have lime, oak and pine. Each wood is chosen either to match an original piece or for its particular qualities, such as durability, ease of carving, sharpness for details or attractive grain or tone.
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Who inspired you to pursue an artistic path?
My dad is a sculptor and my mum is a painter, an etcher, and I had been brought up surrounded by art. I like fine art and when I started my career as a wood carver, one of my sources of inspiration was probably Grinling Gibbons.
What do you like the most about what you do?
Turning a bare piece of wood into something else. I also like the fact that it is fun and that in our studio, we can go from making a very contemporary piece, like the one we are making for Tonico Lemos Auad, to restoring a 18th century shield.