<<<< residencies

In 2008 I was invited by the GranitExpo organisation to take part in the 3rd Symposium International sculpture sur granit de Stanstead, in the town of Stanstead, Quebec. Ten international artists had ten days to carve a large block of local granite into a sculpture. The theme was 'Cosmos', so my idea was to carve a shallow relief of raindrop ripples into the top surface of the block, exploring how small natural phenomena can illustrate larger universal laws of physics i.e. wave motion and interaction. The above photos show my work environment, the block and tent and the finished sculpture, which is photographed just after a rainstorm which rather poetically has brought out the carved ripples on the surface of the block.

It was a great opportunity for me to work on a large stone block alongside other stone-carvers and expert stone technicians. There was a very friendly atmosphere with all sculptors helping each other and I managed to learn much from them, particularily with regard to using power tools which is an unexplored area for me as I normally just use hand tools. I was very pleased with my finished piece, I could have done with more time and experience to maybe polish the top surface to a higher degree, but I think it was a strong idea which worked well.

Thanks also to the GranitExpo team who were very professional, generous and friendly, making the stay very enjoyable for all the visiting sculptors.