Bone Carving

Recently when I was at Rural Arts I had a look round the gallery - and enjoyed the exhibition very much.  One thing caught my eye - Bone Carving Courses!  I found the idea at once both peculiar (in a squeamish sort of way) and intriguing.  I remember seeing lovely carvings in museums in bone, maybe the only material available, and being inspired by their small intricacy.  I have applied for details from the tutor Fraser Simpson, and will let you know what happens.

Since then, I have come across Rose-Marie Crespin who carves motifs into tiny bone discs, and drills holes in the middle, she then engraves them in shallow and deep relief.  Other carving is on biscuit fired porcelain tokens, inspired by ancient cameos and beads and discs of fired brown clay, incised or simply modelled.  Some are tiny, and fine and others have bold, more distinctive engraving, pressed, printed and worked with lines.

I love these sculpted beads and tokens - they feel to have an old mystery, and I find myself gazing at them for ages, in their little boxes, waiting to be selected - I want to lift each one out separately, roll it in my palm and examine it.  Maybe in a previous life I was a jeweller, or was adorned by beads and amulets, to me these little objects are hugely satisfying and I feel some sort of affinity with them.

Hopefully I will get to make some of my own in bone.