Jane Mowat. Woodcarving.

Carving wood in relief, and then in three dimensions is a development from cutting designs in blocks for printmaking; the colour of the wood has its own attractions, and light adds another dimension to the image when it catches the details. I carve what I hear, and am influenced by the shape and surface of the wood, as for my prints.

Birds and plants seem to invade my images, as well as the occasional figure. These are often in meditation, listening, or asleep while nature lives and grows around them. Carving is when I am at my most meditational, as once the design has been drawn out, I can concentrate on the cutting. The sound of the mallet knocking against the gouge handles, as I flex my wrist one way or another, contrasts with the chirping of birds outside the studio. Breathing, carving, listening, watching the forms take shape; I am simply engaged in a creative act which becomes instinctive and asks for nothing but patience and time.

I am occasionally free to do commissions.

Contact me if you wish to discuss this, or wish to visit my studio in Somerset and see what I have available.

Detail 'Listening to the Birds' (oak). NFS.

Detail 'Rest by a Mountain Stream' (oak). NFS.

Figure Holding Flowering Stem (oak).
200 x 36 x 4.5cm. £750 — Figure Holding Flowering Stem (oak). 200 x 36 x 4.5cm. £750

Resting Beneath Flowering Branches. Diptych. SOLD.

Woman with Spirals (oak). 23x57x6cm. £430

Figure with Flower 36 x 130 x 2 cm (Ash) £580

Sleeping in Nature (oak) 20 x 115 x 9cm £995

The Thinking Man (oak) 34 x 137 x 2.5cm £480

Sleeping Figure with Cats (work in progress, detail)

Sleeping Figure with Cats (completed)
32 x 132 x 9cm £590 — Sleeping Figure with Cats (completed) 32 x 132 x 9cm £590

Two Hands reaching for a Bird
28 x 27 x 2.5 £250 — Two Hands reaching for a Bird 28 x 27 x 2.5 £250

Mountain Series.

Shoulder (chestnut). 48x55x16.5cm including base.

Erosion (with Shoulder in the background).

Reaching Up (with Shoulder in the back ground). 73x36x31cm including base.