JON EARNEY

I am a self taught sculptor who started out learning the techniques of lapidary whilst living in New Zealand. Inspired by the resurgence in the Maori art of carving jewellery out of Pounamu (nephrite jade), I taught myself to fashion pendants out of stone I found on West Coast beaches.

I guess it was a natural progression to want to move to working on a larger scale and began sculpting in stone some 10 years ago. With 2 young children the sculpting offered a creative release from the demands of home and working as a special needs teacher.

Some of my fondest earliest memories are walking the beaches of North Norfolk with my mum in search of carnelian and small pieces of agate to take home and tumble polish. I love being outdoors searching for material for my sculptures and so the most organic looking of my pieces are likely to be from stones that I have picked up on beaches and mountainsides. More recently I have enjoyed the challenge of working in English woods; these are scavenged from hedgerows and recycled from dead trees.

I am also keen amateur geologist and am fascinated by the processes of time and tide that have created the stone I work. I would like to think that my work uncovers and enhances the hidden beauty within rough stone and that others will get pleasure from seeing and being around them.