Roger Stephens
Sculptor
“To Begin at the Beginning,” to quote from Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas.
I was introduced to working stone around eleven years old at Prep School. For soft young hands unused to manual work, we were given lumps of alabaster as this lovely soft stone was easy to carve simple shapes, such as fruit bowls and pen holders.
This early experience and interest in stone carving led me to eventually train as a stone mason and work at Salisbury Cathedral. I was fortunate to work there on the Spire and West Front with the occasional foray on outside contracts. While at the Cathedral I continued to explore contemporary sculpture and put on exhibitions of my work with other mason carvers. After nine years I left the Cathedral to become a full-time sculptor.
My work is mainly in stone, occasionally incorporating iron and stainless steel, materials I feel are elemental, hard and uncompromising. This is fundamental to my work. Wherever the idea comes from, natural forms, heavy industry, words or politics, I strive to imbue the piece with an elegant solution.
It is important to me that the viewer feels invited to touch, to feel the contrasting textures, to engage with the physical form as well as the intellectual idea. There is a continuous process of exploration, of developing ways to interpret ideas, to challenge the commissioner and viewer.
Prizes and Awards:
Atkinson Gallery, Millfield Summer Show, Prize winner
Wiltshire Open Exhibition, Prize winner
Discerning Eye, Prize winner
Carved Paterae and Garlands, Triumphal Arch, Wilton House. Civic Society Award
Three Granite seats, Porter’s Garden, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Onyx Award
Four Wayside Stone Seats, Broughton. Best Street Furniture Award
Cartouche in Ham Hill stone, Taylors Alms-Houses, Salisbury. Lady Radnor Award