My early influences were perhaps formed when we first moved to Norwich when I was four years old. Growing up around the cathedrals of Norwich and Canterbury, these magnificent structures had an undeniable impact on me as a child. These towering structures were an awe inspiring presence of light, colour and form. I have a recollection of an early experience of an example of sacred geometry that may particularly have found its way into the unconscious mind. The special geometry of the Ethelbert gate into the Norwich Cathedral Close was something that I saw on a daily basis from an early age.
Ethelbert Gate, Norwich, England
Close up showing my attic playroom window in the centre of the arch It seems possible that influences form and build in the consciousness, eventually leading to a creative moment when something is produced as a result of the synthesis of previous experiences. At this point a new significance to observation occurs, an actual response is activated. The creative process begins, pre recorded related stimulae come together to form new areas of development. These early experiences seem to have been unconsciously implanted, so when at ten years old I was given my first maths textbook and seeing those five regular solids pictured in the introduction, this had an immediate effect.
These forms, the basis of three dimensional geometry, was that seminal experience that laid the foundations for future exploration. They are an important part of the three dimensional world of construction. Making these was my first sculptural experience and perhaps the idea of the primal forms was born at this point.
A visit to the cathedral mason's yard provided a piece of stone for my first carving, a Norman "dog tooth", a stone pyramidical decoration, found in the older parts of Canterbury Cathedral. The octahedron solid is made up of two pyramids.
Pyramidical 'dog tooth' ornament sketch