My Madestone Story

I began sculpting as a hobby in 2005. My first experience of hebel as a sculpting medium was at a Home Show in Hamilton. I saw a display which featured hebel as a construction material with some examples of its use in an artistic way. After some conversation I realised it had potential as a carving material for a group of people I was working with as a learning facilitator. This gave me an opportunity to experiment and learn about the characteristics of hebel. From that time on I have developed my own skills and techniques. 

Setting up Madestone Sculptures gave me a chance to develop a brand, create a website, photograph and document sculptures and find ways to sell my work. I began by having a stall at local markets. By the time I retired in 2016 Madestone was well established.

However after a few years I found going to markets was not providing a good return for the effort and time required. I developed my website into an online store which became my major outlet. I was then invited to join a local cooperative called Creative Gifts who had a shop in Centreplace, Hamilton for a year and The Base shopping centre for two years. This was a great learning experience.

My next venture was to hold an exhibition at Creative Waikato in Garden  Place. Again this was an excellent learning opportunity and I was pleased with the outcome as I had to curate the whole event. I also held several sculpting workshops and all the participants enjoyed carving their own sculptures.

By now I had also sculpted pieces from wood and Hinuera and Oamaru stone.  

The most satisfying of all my ventures was to undertake commissions. Some of these were for overseas customers and I’m proud to have work in the UK, France, South Africa, USA, Australia as well as NZ.

I now focus on my online store, the odd commission and sales through the Manderin Tree gallery in Gordonton.

 

 

 

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