A little bit about me

I am happily married to Juliet (for 31 years), whose church textiles work you may already be familiar with. www.church-textiles .co.uk

I am often involved in this - helping with exhibitions, enabling banners, frontals and other vestments to be satisfactorily installed in their church contexts. 

My background is in industry (7 years) where I trained as a Patternmaker for 5 years, and Draughtsman for 2 years.  I was made redundant, worked as a lorry/van driver, then as a 'Bread roundsman' then went to Alsager college for 3 years to train to be a teacher.

I have been a teacher of Design Technology for 33 years, and ICT for the last 18,  I have now retired and other than doing the occasional bit of Supply work for schools, am giving much more time to helping Juliet with her work, fittings, and exhibitions.  I am also able now to concentrate fully on my sculptural work.

FAMILY

We have a talented son Joel, 29 fully occupied installing and maintaining chip and pin networks for a national company.  He is also very talented in graphics and web design when time permits.

We have an equally talented daughter Joanna (Joey) who has taken a B'Tec in 'Technical Theatre', passing with Distinction, followed by a years 'Arts Foundation' course, also passed with Distinction.

She has just spent a year working with her mum designing and making church textiles (her own choice), and has just started a three year course studying for a BA in 'Scenic Arts'.

She continues to make and sell her beadwork jewellery (mainly bracelets) which create much interest and are in modest demand particularly at exhibition times throughout the year.

BACKGROUND INTERESTS

I became interested in Sculpture, wood, metal - (mild steel), some jewellery - (sterling silver) , when I started college.

During one of the early BASIC DESIGN exercises I discovered I enjoyed and was beginning to understand abstract art.  Picasso, Kandinsky, Hepworth, Moore, Mondrian, (among others) being amongs my favourites, and began experimenting with shapes, geometric and otherwise on canvas, and in wood and metal, all coming from a range of viewpoints.

I love teaching, and communicating with people whatever their age, but the excitement I encounter with children in school when they understand the point I am trying to put over is very  similar to the reaction I get when customers are trying to make up their mind between two different sculptures.

The native hardwoods in this country excite me.  Their grain, texture, colouring, and smell all have a communication of their own relating to life, growth, and development, enabling me to view the cross in different ways, which I seem to be able to communicate to others almost instinctively.  Perhaps something to do with my chequered past.

I also use a lot of imported hard woods which give an extra edge to what can be done.

I would love to get some larger crosses into churches and peoples' homes.

I am currently working on designs for an altar set for a local hospital Faith Centre, and have been asked to look at another Derbyshire Church (New Hall) with a view to replacing their altar with something of a more contemporary flavour - time will tell, but I am very excited.

OTHER INFLUENCES

I grew up in a 'Christadelphian' family, the youngest of five, three sisters and a brother.

I began to see beyond the rather (for me) 'enclosed' world of Christadelphia between the ages of 16 and 27, my college's Christian Union having quite a major effect on me through their unconditional acceptance, and I gradually grew out of the community. 

I joined the Anglican church just before getting married and was helped through the traumor of 'leaving' Christadelphia by Juliet my wife, and an Anglican Priest (Basil was also an ex-army chaplain) who enabled me to cope with the resulting difficulties and make some sense of it all.

I experienced the 'foot of the cross' with him and subsequently with a number of others since.

I now feel 'comfortable' in the church,

I am involved in my church's worship group, singing bass, general harmony, and playing the bass guitar.

I love driving, walking, all types of music, particularly jazz and classical, most styles of modern dance drama, the theatre, the latest technology, and read avidly the books of 

Susan Howatch
J K Rowling
Michel Quoist
Adrian Plass
H A Williams
C S Lewis
etc.

I enjoy a regular pint or glass of wine and a good conversation or film, but prefer the theatre especially when modern dance is being presented.

Alvin Ailey
Northern Dance
Rambert

I have as I have said now retired, and when I have had a thorough rest, and a holiday, I will be working to convert a unit I have secured on a local farm, enabling me to set up a much larger workshop, and office/showroom. 

I hope you continue to enjoy the product and feel able to recommend it to others.

God bless you

Jonathon