My interest in stonecarving started in my final year of a Fine Art Degree at Middlesex University. Although I had previously been working as a painter, I felt an absolute identification with the process of carving and decided that I must work in this area. On graduating I immediately took evening classes in stone carving and was then asked by the teacher to work as her assistant on several large commissions. Following this, it seemed natural to apply for a three-year diploma in Architectural Stonecarving at the City and Guilds School of Art in order to receive a thorough grounding in the methods and techniques of advanced stonemasonry.

On my completion I applied for, and was awarded, a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to spend time working in a marble-carving studio near Carrara in Italy. My time there led to an enduring relationship with marble as a favourite material. The contacts and friendships I made with other sculptors and stonemasons have been a huge source of influence. Whilst I retain a huge admiration for the superhuman achievements of both the ancient Greek and Renaissance sculptors, I also feel great enthusiasm for the carved sculpture of many civilisations and cultures, in particular the Inuit, and still love seeing the shape of an animal or figure in a chunk of stone and carving instinctually without the use of preparatory models or drawings.

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