Early on in a 2yr. master/apprentice teaching at the Frink School of Sculpture in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, this 20cm form in polystyrene emerged from carving and abrasion. It was named Ramtorso from the upper part of this viewed profile where both the 'ram' and 'torso' are immediately evident. An an experiment, this was taken to a nearby sand casting firm who created a two part mould around the form which could then either be burnt out by molten aluminium, or removed to create a void to allow a pour from which the unique solid aluminium form now exists. Sand casts are only used once; it is quickly sifted and used again for the next cast to be performed. The polished surface bears some of the texture of the polystyrene.

The donated block was a century-old oak post from Oakhurst Lane, Billingshurst. Ceres is the Roman goddess of harvest and it now sits outside a community shop, the name supporting its roles as (practical) gatepost and now (useless) sculpture. The section that was in the ground is now uppermost, some decay yielding the impetus for a head-like form. Some observers see arms behind the back of an abstract figure; others see them in front. It is also merely abstract - totemic - and supports the idea that anything standing upward with a focus can contrast with softer focus of vegetation and plants. Wooden sculptures decay where they touch the ground and the stone plinth junction creates a need for maintenance every decade or so.

Then living in Yardley Hastings, logs were 'recycled' whilst on walks across the historic Castle Ashby Estate when training at the Frink School of Sculpture in Stoke on Trent, a form-based art school which eschewed the trend for conceptual work. This carving was typical of works where the block - a found object - provided an initial impetus to explore and remove using mallet and gouge chisel. It has a balance of large and smaller forms and some hints at the organic, if not the figurative.

After Frink School life ended, we moved south-west from Northamptonshire, pausing at the offer of staying at the Old School House in the Duntisbournes, north of Cirencester, within the garden of the home of a garden designer. Former tutor sculptor Alan Thornhill was close by in Chalford and the continuity with his work, being an improviser, was useful for my own developing thoughts. This work is made from found objects close to walks in Duntisbourne; an homage to localness and also to our hosts perhaps.

Alan sat for two former students and the heads are very different in character. The sitting was in the shed/garage/barn at St Mary's Mill, Chalford and I now work with the same rotating chair which Alan sat on then and was used for many of his sittings in the 1970s; Enoch Powell and Tom Stoppard amongst them. Alan sat angled, far back in the chair and when seeing the finished clay did not like the abruptly cut off section below the neck shown here. It has a little of the look I remember from him teaching; he did not like spare clay left around the base of the headpeg armature, believing it hampered proper seeing. He also did not like clay being smeared, seeing that as a loss of rigour in the observed points in the developing 'job'.

Post-Frink School and having moved from Duntisbourne Rous, Goucestershire to near Ross-on-Wye where a potential studio had serendipitously arisen, several sittings presented themselves in the locality. The Harvey-Jones, from a sitting just west of Hay-on-Wye, was a good opportunity to continue an interest in the sittings at the Frink. It is a fresh head but with precious-few hours working time so underworked and less formally correct. I have always felt it feels of him despite this. A single bronze exists, cast through Castle Foundry at Woodchester near Stroud. It would be nice if this found a public siting in Hay or Ross-on-Wye in time.

I knew Polar explorer Duncan Carse from childhood, working in his secluded Sussex garden. Keeping in touch from university times onward, the seeing and perception of the sitter built from 1986, but consciously from 2003 when I realised he should sit for me. In 2004 he agreed to sit shortly before his death and we decided to create the posthumous work from memories, a vast photographic and film archive, and from those closest to him. You can experience the man in a David Cobham film made of an isolation experiment on South Georgia many years earlier. Survival in Limbo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpuCDImylc

The sitter was my innovative boss at Northamptonshire Countryside Services (1992-1997) before I went on to the Frink School in search of more personal creativity. The sitting at Goodrich Court Stables, Herefordshire was a bespoke workshop for Alan's multi-generational family group. The clay developed with family members (including artists) being instructed in seeing, with my co-ordination and oversight. I was surprised how powerful the resultant head was and think this is due to the rich relationship with the sitter for all the people involved. The sitter had a long-standing relationship with and diverse contributions to the county and nation: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/oct/09/alan-teulon-obituary

Roy lived close to Goodrich and was still developing the garden at The Laskett. He generously gave time for the sitting at The Stables, either side of lunch. Years earlier, he sat for one of Angela Conner's earliest sculpted heads. Sadly, the multitude of two-dimensional depictions in photograph, drawing and painting held in the National Portrait Gallery collection make any sculptural additions to the national collection difficult. A triptych of NPG Directors was planned; Strong and Saumarez-Smith have sat, but one more is still needed! The Bodleian Library holds the Strong papers.

After a child born at Goodrich, a chance to return to native Sussex arose. Philippa Scott had corresponded with me over Duncan Carse helping her husband Peter Scott with polar South Georgia teal coming to Slimbridge. We found other serendipities with a relative of hers having lived close to Venetia Carse's (nee Kempe) family home in Norfolk. Trying to continue "bartered" sittings with people who interested me (sitter/sculptor giving time freely to enable a clay sketch to exist which might have interest for various collections) started again with a link to my broad environmental interests. David Attenborough had recently sat elsewhere and declined, but heads of James Lovelock and Mary Midgley and Richard Mabey followed.

This clean-cut cubic block of limestone was sourced at Laughton Lodge hence its name Lewes Group. It was worked at Bedham, Sussex - prior to any involvement of others to help open a block up by adding chance factors into the process; I was conscious of not preconceiving at the beginning of a work but also, with a large work unable to be easily turned, quite how quickly imagery developed. The forms, in hindsight, suggested an artist's pre-occupations at the time in the family; one young child and another on the way. The corner facing figure bears similar forms to an alabaster carving, Wight Man, from 2006. Correspondence from viewers has found that this stone 'rings'; the stone has a particular resonance when tapped.

After a large show at the public Worthing Museum and Gallery, a connection to the former Lewis Elton Gallery at Guildford suggested making relevant works to add local flavour. Engineer/designer Gordon Murray sat for the Environment Series Heads; clay was found under the house of potter Mary Wondrausch for three Compton-related heads to emerge following the historic narrative of Mary Seton Watts, wife of painter G.F. Watts. The third head continued the role of community involvement, with a public appeal to yield local stalwart Jane Turner to accompany the longstanding curator of the Watts Gallery, Richard Jefferies. Another Guildford connection arose with the Environment Series head of climate scientist Professor Chris Rapley.

Pat Grayburn was responsible for the development of the University of Surrey's public art and The Lewis Elton Gallery on campus. It felt right to ask her to sit and to unveil the head at the opening of The Human Clay exhibition. Portraiture enables a way in for viewers of sculpture, especially if observers know or know of the sitter. In similar vein, for the sculptor, confidence is built knowing that observational skills are in place to enable such heads to arise, especially when viewers may be negative or distrustful of the forms in more free or more abstract works of sculpture. Ultimately, the latter are wholly personal whereas my terracotta sketches have a balance of both subject and sculptor.

Commissioned in bronze from the original slate carving by University of Surrey, this work started out as a horizontal lettered piece from a slate work surface slab at St Mary's Cottage, Fittleworth; you can see the remains of several letters rising, bottom left. The lettering gave way to various turns of the block and drawings from my son translated onto the fresh surface. For some reason, the figure gradually arose. The classical nude is often seen to have better balance of large and small forms through the addition of developed finger and foot forms. One can probably say the same for genitalia. I am unsure as to why the loose garment developed but suffice to say it feels like it adds antiquity to the composition.

Educator Prof. Glynn Williams was one of the sitters for a themed travelling exhibition at Woking Lightbox and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Considering the roles of diverse venues (Chichester Cathedral Dean Nicholas Frayling, YSP Director Peter Murray), critic Nancy Durrant, documenter photographer Anne-Katrin Purkiss, sculptors Sokari Douglas-Camp, Ronald Rae and Peter Randall-Page, entrepreneur Wilfred Cass, charitable Foundation Alan Grieve and collector Chris Ingram. At YSP, a taught community session saw the creation of a head of curator Helen Pheby and a publicly screened sitting with Clare Lilley.

This small block came about after the start and before the end of Portal (below). Using a developing improvisation process and after a 180 degree turn of the large block (from the upright to upside-down) the resultant attitude was top heavy (a good sculptural device as the mass has more potential energy) and randomised. As the new narrative crept in - particularly the large figure - I needed the confidence of trying out those things on the small scale; this study is far more representational/less abstract. They complement each other well for those comparing forms like for like.

School children sketched on the sides of the stone things in the landscape which moved them. This was part of the A3D project which celebrated the returning of the Devil's Punchbowl to heathland with the tunnelling of the old road. Those elements helped break the block up into sub-masses which influenced the first stories appearing, in addition to my own historical research. After the initiation of carving, visitors interacted; exchanged stories, but most did not carve. The block was turned over half way, starting the resolving process again, although the rhythms existing would still be present albeit the visual recognition of certain elements 'randomised'.

Trisantonis (the Roman name for the Arun - "the Wanderer") developed over 40 day sessions at RSPB Pulborough Brooks where a loose partnership formed. I needed a site with good footfall and we chose an undisturbed position but directly on the busy access road leading to to the car park, using their visitors to interact with the stone in promoted sessions, in return for contractor help in turning the stone during the period to randomise the forms. Over 600 people were involved and the final forms saw bird life, Roman figures, a putative water goddess and other abstract life enter the reductive work, through the long process of work on site and the stories and thoughts that unfolded from the vistors and local community.

This National Trust block sat in 11 locations across the Slindon Estate during its carving. Each session was well promoted and gained significant passing footfall, aiming to gather rich inputs for the sculptor. 1350 participants were recorded; people talked about the forms developing or donned safety googles and learned to use a mallet and chisel. Many returned on future sessions and some became apprentices of sorts, once I trusted their knowledge, sensitivity and input. Short exchanges often yield 'chance' information. A community poll decided the final name from artist choices. Sadly, the plinth has been earthed up into a grassy bank against the wishes of the artist, destroying the relationship of the standing viewer to the work.

Heads have been observational drawing all along; sittings are a barter of time between sculptor and sitter to enable freshness - through no contractual obligation existing. The twentieth year of the intensive 3 day Portrait in Terracotta course at West Dean College was 2025. This sees up to 10 students complete a head on the first day from a male model, a head on the second day from a female model, before learning to hollow and kiln-fire these original works on day 3. The additive working provides contrast to the reductive stone carving; teaching also introduces new energy to the artist through the students discussion, as well as new forms observed in model and students. This head was made in the hand while walking between students.

Working with Berkeley Homes saw a 10 tonne block started in public space adjoining the first development of c.500 homes, right next to the headwaters of the River Arun. Formal sessions were advertised to those residents and wider Horsham through social media and established group networks, with the vision that people help the block open up to possibility. As the second phase of development started, new visitors looking at new homes or plots join in, who may be future residents. Statistics: 60 days working, 360 hours, between 1.5 and 3 million chisel ‘releases’ of stone, 1.5 tonnes removed. All by hand. 15 Highwood families; 40 carvers in wider Horsham; 400 contributing through interest and discussion.

With all hope for community-engagement sculptural practice thrown by world events, isolation became the new normal. Evolution evolved as a pure barter project; a landowner providing an oak block from a 600 year old tree being made safe, and handling equipment to move the block to site and turn it when needed. As the block had rot in the core, this provided chance impetus for development of the forms with what was remaining. Sessions were not promoted for obvious reasons; the odd passerby engaged in chat when we were allowed to do so. Unplinthed, it sits on a scots pine root plate in the widening of an unsurfaced track and is unnamed and unassuming. People pass and wonder. Hopefully with no expectation, the possibility of joy is present.