Born in Kent 1952, my life changed direction in 2002 when I put behind me some thirty years of working as an art director/illustrator to study sculpture. I completed my BA at Christ Church Canterbury in 2006. In 2007 I became artist-in-residence, student then tutor at the Cyprus College of Art.

In 2006 I was principally a stone carver and maker of measured life drawing.
Now I work with stone, wood, twigs, kebab sticks and colour.

My drawing too has changed from painstakingly detailed illustrations to more instinctive oil pastels. I use them as stubs, almost my fingers…it feels like I am carving in colour. More often than not these drawings are inspired by and derived from mythology, ancient archaeology and dreams.

Currently living and working in the Creative Quarter, Folkestone, Kent.

Location: Folkestone
Website: www.johnsims.yolasite.com
Contact: jscyprus@hotmail.co.uk

I have been working with wood for over 30 years now, and have had many personal highlights in this time. I was awarded a “Gold Medal at the British National Wood Worker Show”. I was also awarded a “Gold and two Bronze Medals” from the “Bexley & District Craft Guild”.

I was commissioned by Geoffrey Marsh MBE from the “British Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineers” to carve their coat of arms on an antique Boxwood Dresser that is to be used as a Talking Stick in their boardroom; The original idea of the Talking Stick was by the American Red Indians. The person holding the Stick cannot be interrupted during a meeting and would be past on to the next person to talk (you can see the finished piece in my gallery).

The artist Graham Clark has one of my Horse Brass patterns featuring his signature logo (you can see this piece in my gallery).

Welcome to my woodcarving art site. Please feel free to brows my sight. My woodcarvings are mainly commissioned to client specifications, I also have a gallery of pieces available for sale.

Location: Lordswood
Website: www.lordswood-creations.co.uk
Contact: dcbowen@blueyonder.co.uk

Sioux uses found objects to create assemblages emphasising her concern for the future of the environment, raising awareness of recycling, reducing and re-using.

Sioux is Chairman of the Swale Arts Forum – the voice of the Arts in Swale – promoting and shaping the development of the local arts community.

Location: Sittingbourne
Website: www.polkadotac.co.uk
Contact: sioux@polkadotac.co.uk

Inspiration: minimalism, abstraction, space, form, drawing, sculpture, texture, materials, colour – expressed as minimal sculptures and drawings.

Location: Canterbury
Website: www.blackvanilla.org.uk
Contact: info@blackvanilla.org.uk

The focus of much of my work is on archaeological and ethnographic collections, of the kind that were common in museums fifty years ago but are now found more rarely. The twist is that although the battered and decaying objects in these “collections” look as though they are the booty of some long forgotten expedition, they are in fact made by the artist.

On one level a collection is a metaphor for memory. Museums are a form of collective memory, but a memory that needs the interpretation of the curator for it to make any sense. My cabinets and cases seem to have lost that narrative. If there are labels, they are blank; the significance and purpose of the objects is obscure, as is their age and geographical origin; we are left wondering who collected them and why. This is the tragedy of memory – it is at the heart of what makes us human, but suffers a continuous depletion.

On another level, these works are not real collections at all but inventions. Museum collections depend for their integrity upon the notion of authenticity; I made these myself, so is my collection a fiction? In a sense, my objects have their own authenticity. After all they are not imitations of other things, but exist in their own right. Even so, their outward appearance as collected relics verges on the misleading. Perhaps memories are like that too – a raw material that is shaped to fit into a personal narrative.

Location: Lamberhurst
Website: www.julianrowe.co.uk
Contact: info@julianrowe.co.uk

My work deals primarily with ‘anti-form’ and though inherently figurative I often use drapery to illustrate the lack of a figure.

The shapes evolve from a trueness to the stone with only a suggestion by the artists as to what form the finished piece shall take. I am interested in theories of existentialism and present my pieces as ‘art objects’. They are raised off the floor to eye level with plinths, often using steel or oak, which both ground and elevate the stone with their own weight and form. This separates the viewing plane and aims to engage the viewer and the space into a sense of conversation with the pieces.

Location: Canterbury
Website: www.benkidger.com
Contact: kidger@benkidger.com

Installation, collections, cartography and curiosities.

Location: Margate
Website: www.stevemcpherson.co.uk
Contact: info@stevemcpherson.co.uk

The simply beautiful collection by nature’s art of naturally sculpted wood has been collected by Justin and Sally. Justin casts silver and creates a small amount of stained glass, whilst Sally runs a small holding. Each piece of sculpture is a naturally formed growth left by the death of the tree. It is wood that will age, live in its own right and change with the seasons; giving stunning long living sculptural features for many, many years to come. The current collection has taken several years to find from all over the UK and will continue to grow as time goes on. It is through their enthusiasm and contacts that they are able to bring and offer to you this magnificent selection of sculptures.

Location: Canterbury
Website: www.naturesartwoodsculptures.com
Contact: naturesart@btinternet.com