The end of a commission, but the start of the New Sculpture Trail at Cobtree!

Trails with Tales Comes Home!

The final sculpture installation at Cobtree happened today. The new artwork, 'Trails with Tales', stands at 2.4 m high and is carved from a single 4 ton block of Kilkenny Limestone. The sculpture is located at the entrance to the new visitors center and at the pathway that is the start of the Cobtree Sculpture Trail. There is still some landscaping to be completed before the grand opening on the 3rd of August! Its great to see the sculpture in a different environment than the one Ive been used to at the workshop. The scale of the sculpture works really well and the long deliberation and consultation between Jo, Lewis, Lizzie and myself regarding the positioning of the sculpture has paid off! Even Gert the elephant looks right at home on top!

Park Life.

A selection of leaf forms carved into one of the sections of the stone sculpture.  

There is a real variety of different trees to be found within the arboretum at Cobtree Park. 

The leaf patterns extend down one section of the sculpture while on the left you can see the textures and details of an old topographical map of the area with, Cobtree Park located in the top left corner.

A River Runs Through It

The Landscape of a Map

The Map being used on the carving is dated from the 1970’s and interestingly still clearly shows the old sites of the Ballast & Clay Pits, Round Wood as well as the grounds of Cobtree Manor. The inclusion and carving of the map is a way of referencing the past while creating a link with the present modifications to the site at Cobtree.

The surrounding landscape hasn’t changed that much since the days of Maidstone Zoo, and the old map links us directly to that immediate environment. It provides us with a sense of place and it can be used to display features, portrayed in a highly symbolic style. Like all maps they become estimations, and interpretations of a true geographic condition. In particular, I have focused on the linear contours, boundaries and tracks that divide the area with particular emphasis to the site at Cobtree and the River Medway.

Go With The Flow!

Filters and Sunshine

My mantra for the last few weeks has been, “Spend another day on it’, Spend another day on it”, so much so is my desire for accuracy! Unfortunately this is the way it has to be when you are not content with how the overall sculptural form is looking. For me, it has to work from all angles. Strangely, some of the best angles and perspectives are when you are above the sculpture looking down and through it. I will take some photos from above and post them when complete. However, it’s the slight changes needed to a curve or if a line is too straight which makes all the difference. If the lines are not working together it can throw everything out, which makes it unsettling on the eye as well as the adjoining line or curve. The only solution is to get out the pencil and to draw straight onto the sculpture, ready to carve, trim and tighten, pulling everything together. 

With the sculpture having its final hole cut through the bottom section I am delighted how this looks as it still has retained a solidness to its form. It will slowly become wider, with the crescent opening until it emphasises a greater lean, sweeping and twisting around the back of the sculpture.

The next step now is to begin the drawing, transferring and texturing of imagery onto the front bands of stone. These will include the topographical map of the Cobtree area, leaf patterns and water patterns. However, this will have to wait a few weeks, as there is a very important issue of travelling to Italy, in search of sun, sea and stone!!