Q: Why work small instead of always monumental?

A: My practice moves across jewellery, small-scale sculpture, sculptural vessels, and larger stone works. Even the larger sculptures I’ve created so far have remained at a scale I could physically move and work with myself, which has suited the direct, hands-on nature of my practice.

With sculpture, I believe scale is something you work your way up through over time. Truly large stone sculpture brings entirely different considerations — planning, engineering, lifting systems, physical endurance, and mental readiness. I have larger stones waiting in my yard, including one weighing around 1.4 tonnes. For a long time, I didn’t even have the equipment to move it safely. Now I do, and I can feel that threshold approaching.

My current commission began with a 257kg stone fixed in place while I work around it from all sides. The process has shown me that I’m capable of moving further into larger-scale sculpture, and ideas for more ambitious works are beginning to emerge as I gradually build the systems around the practice.

Early on in my self-taught journey, I decided I wanted to understand all scales — from the tiny, delicate, and intricate through to the massive. It’s a slow progression. While working on larger pieces that unfold over long periods of time, I enjoy returning to smaller works. They offer short, contained challenges and moments of completion within the larger undertaking — small successes amongst the big ones.