Thanks to filmmakers like Les Blank, I started carving after seeing the old porch whittlers of the American South. I’ve struggled blindly and joyously upwards from there. I owe a lot to the community in Rugby who have brought me tools, books and wood to encourage me. It does a lot when you know people are behind you, but just the simple pleasure of cutting into wood was enough to keep me in it. Mindfulness and carving for wellness was my first angle. I’ve gone on to work with home education groups, classes for retired people needing a decent hobby, and adult evening courses for advanced carvers and aspiring artists. I’ve taught and run workshops in Leicester, Coventry, Leamington, Warwick, Stratford Upon Avon and Birmingham; and my carvings have been displayed all round the country from churches and galleries in the midlands to homes down in Cornwall and right up to the new Perth Museum in Scotland! It means a lot to know I’ve spread it so far. (There must be at least fifty new carvers in this town by now!) I’m a parent of three, and I work from my workshop at home in Rugby, Warwickshire.