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This of course is a completely unbiased, (tho suitably edited and probably embellished) account of me, influencing factors and motivations (those that I admit to anyway).  Take it all with a pinch of stone dust :-)
A bit of background might be in order.
I have always tended artistic from time to time, with my earliest sculptural memories being of carving dinosaurs out of blocks of wax tinted with crayons, (and then there was that xmas scene in a box.....)  A favouring of art in college with no particular merit being shown, it was just something to do arising from a lack of any real idea of how I might live my life. These days I have a different viewpoint..............
 
Somewhat introverted in my early years I had few friends so just tended to do my own thing, spending a lot of time wandering the hills collecting rocks and minerals and enjoying the mountains and bush.

This solitude has manifested into an atypical "do it yourselfer" who can rarely leave well enough alone, (there is always a way to make it work / look "better"......)
And I have a few more friends these days I note :-)

My first job involved living in a Forestry Camp where, with the support and encouragement of a friend, I started painting. They sold.

Memories of these days are a bit thin but it was a time that got me into things artistic, linked with the idea there was a living to be made, a view still debateable to tis day.  I spent most of my time there doing things with trees and driving big machinery although as a result of these times I was to later take up painting as a means of supporting myself (sort of), an artist you might say.....
They all sold, (we won't mention the bulk closing down sale to my brother,  he has goood taste though..... ) 
Coming up with ideas of what to paint was generally painfully slow,  uneconomic even, so I gave it away.......
 
I did a lot of other things decidedly unartistic in nature, drove trucks, managed a hotel, did carpentry, bought a fishing boat and fished then turned it into a gaff rigged yacht and lived on it, in fact just about anything that didn't require the brains I was supposed to have had some would say......
 
Time passes.
 
One day while at my sisters house I had a stroke of genius, (in retrospect),  resulting from watching her feed the dog.  It was a flash of the future.
At the time I needed a gift for someone and preferring to make one  I decided to do a bone carving, something I had never done before so the dog lost the bone,  I bought a knife,  started carving, liked it, then decided to become a professional bone carver.

I did very well, and ended up with a working gallery in Nelson, my home town.  Very prolific I was, and in demand even........
The years pass,  I create a flourishing business and managed to wreck my hands in the process, and never seemed to see the  outdoors or get to sail.  End of bone carving......
 
I did the Avatar Course and chose to change my life,  ie: I finally got one..... 

Time passes

Then one memorable day as a result of seeking to sort out my then growing hand problem, I met Marie. We married, ended up in South Canterbury,  near Geraldine, on a magical property with the most amazing energy, springs,  trees, and 47 species of
birds (at least).  This is where I created the Labyrinth, definitely a work of art with a lawnmower.
 
 
THE STONE WAS CALLING

I had toyed with the idea of sculpting stone for a long time as I had done some bits and pieces when bone carving.  It felt right.... familiar even.............  I decided to become a sculptor.......... Still am............. well for the most part

PLAYING WITH LIGHT
 
 It is the play of light,  changing throughout the day,  that makes any Oamaru Stone sculpture come to life.
 With it being a fairly uniform and light coloured material it demands that the sculptor uses the ambient lighting as part of their palette.
 Smooth curves,  highlit,  extending to other curves with dimensions of shadow that wax and wane with the day,
adding a depth unexpected.
 
 In Oamaru Stone I find a material that is easy to work and yet has the body to take a reasonable amount of detail.
 I like speed and detail so it well suits the flowing forms I create.
 It's creamy richness seems to enhance feelings of growth and unfoldment,  and as you will note,  I favour the spiral,
the koru (unfurling fern frond) as forms of movement.

That combined with elements of water and simple land forms, along with intimations of light,
create an expression that is alive in a material normally considered solid and fixed.

 Mind you I like form for forms sake and will often start many a piece simply by exploring the shape of a curve.
 The truth is,  coming up with designs hasn't got any easier,  but at  the very least I end up with a lot of lime for the garden,
and that can't be all bad.


THE SPIRIT WITHIN
 
There is another aspect to sculpture, or any art form,  unquantifiable in a way yet essential to all successful works.
The spirit or soul of a work...............
 
Viewpoints abound so here are my perceptions:  Two main aspects, first, the "feel" that someone unconsciously projects into a work when they first see it,  always in accordance with their beliefs, (seen and unseen), and hence those aspects of life they choose to identify with.  This is the most common source of any initial response to a work of art, make or break in the first few seconds.  Within these belief structures you will also find the forms as identified with by society, or any particular culture etc, often containing the common ground for mass appreciation, (I'll have some of that)
 
  The second aspect, is where some pieces have a specific quality that is percieved in the same way irrespective of form or viewer.  A life of their own.  This still has the same basis as above but implies some interesting belief structures within consciousness, particularly when it is obvious that these qualities can be placed within the work by it's creator................
 
  Intent is the key here.  Clear focused intent as to the purpose and how it is, (not will be),  = belief followed by experience. Then add in a suitable degree of attention to the job in hand.  Some artists do it automatically, todo it consciously .............. even better. Many of you can feel where an artist is coming from,  some of you will have even unconsciously picked up if a work has been done for money or for the creation itself.
  Done for money stuff can be really nice but that is where it ends, (an insight:- the underlying belief structure is often around a lack of money........... think about it). Over the years I have seen many many technically well skilled pieces that are dead,  and amateur pieces that are absolute shockers BUT they have THE FEEL....... Intent.................. it's all about intent.......