With the imminent arrival of 5 stone blocks I can now contemplate the exciting prospect of undertaking my next project. Designed to form an entrance way feature into Orchard Bank Housing Development in the Panmuirfield area of Dundee, the scheme offers me the chance to continue my recent series of stone carvings.

2 walls are to be build using locally sourced stone on either side of the main driveway, there will be 3 carvings on one wall with the remaining carvings going on the other. These will be some of the biggest carvings I have tackled – to date! Opportunities like this don’t come along every day, so the prospect of the next 5-6 weeks carving is something I am relishing.

As my work on the Forfar Botanists Garden draws to an end my focus shifts towards the next project. Commissioned by the Elsick Development Company to commemorate the Founding of Chapelton New Town, (ten miles South of Aberdeen), this Cairn Seat will sit within what will become a central civic space for the Town. Constructed using a mix of reclaimed materials sourced from the existing Estate this landmark will symbolically mark the beginning of the process, a period of transformation and change that is aimed at creating a new vibrant and sustainable community.

It seemed a distant prospect when I signed up for it but the months have whizzed past and here I am right in the middle of my first ever Perthshire Open Studio Event. Project commitments have meant that I am not as prepared as I had wanted to be. There have been a few long weekends sawing, ,hammering, filling & painting to get my ‘Shed’ beyond the rough & ready workspace it usually is, to the point where it is ready to show my work and accept any prospective visitors.

The newly painted white walls has transformed the untidy & chaotic space into a reasonable personal gallery where I have the opportunity to display past projects and more recent new work offering an insight into my artistic practice. Visitor numbers have not been very high but those who have come to view the work have been incredibly generous with their praise. With a couple of potential leads the event has been a worthwhile undertaking so far, I look forward to welcoming many more in the next few days.