"When producing my work I use a mixture of the traditional skills learnt from my time in the heritage industry whilst employing a fairly spontaneous direct carving approach. Having fallen for the charms of stone I take inspiration from the grown world within the landscape and habitats that surround me in the rolling hills of West Dorset. I am fascinated by the interaction of seemingly soft and flowing organic forms within a hard natural material and strive to capture something of the way in which I saw the grown environment as a child. I encourage the viewer to question our place on the planet and evoke a realisation that we must respect nature in order to survive as a species. It feels ever more important to me to reconnect with the forms that enthralled me growing up. By creating these sculptures I feel closer to nature and myself and hope to awaken this feeling in others.'
Having originally trained in Applied Architectural Stonework and Conservation at Weymouth College in Dorset Ben went on to continue his training in Historic/Architectural Stone Carving at City and Guilds of London Art School. Over the following years he was lucky enough to work upon buildings, monuments and locations such as Highgate Cemetery, Kew Palace, The Tower of London, The National Portrait Gallery, The Albert Memorial and The Houses of Parliament to name a few. Commissions during this period included a grotesque for St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, two large relief carvings for County Hall London and a commemorative plaque for Goodenough College unveiled by The Queen. He received a number of awards whilst training and received a Duke of Gloucester for his carving work within the industry in 2013.
Having established himself in the heritage industry Ben found little time for his own work to flourish so in 2017 he relocated to his home county of Dorset to set up his practise. He now divides his time between his own work and undertaking commissions through his company - The Dorset Stone Carver.
'I use carving not only as a way to express myself and connect with nature but as a means to stay sane. Wherever possible I return to the age old methods of carving with a hammer and chisel.'
