Intro to the Artists: Gary King

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So to further kick off the intro to the artists; we would like to introduce you to Gary King; a Plymouth born chap, who grew up on the creatively paved streets of the Glastonbury area and now resides in the little village of Evercreech.

            The West Country for West Country folk means a lot, it is beautiful and inspiring, quaint and spiritual, quiet yet bursting with life. Gary has found this applies as it is does for others, to himself and his passion; Stonemasonry. He takes inspiration from the scenic coastlines, traditional rural pastimes and even the curious [I mean unusual!] country folk. Gary’s stonework’s can be said to be an interesting mix of both contemporary and rustic benefitted from a priceless [yet rare] knowledge of traditional stonemasonry and stone carving.

With his positive and communicative stone sculptures viewers are invited to observe Gary’s thoughts, emotions and ideas as solid form.

“Long summer days, short winter days, childhood, holidays, travels to foreign lands, good and bad times spent with family and friends, memorable highs and lows of my own life all lie behind these sculptures”

Gary King

Caen Stone

Caen Stone, or Pierre de Caen as it is sometimes known, is a fine light creamy yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in Northern France near to the city of Caen. It was formed in shallow lagoons about 167 million years ago.

Portland Stone

Portland is also Jurassic limestone and is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Portland stone has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles. The tower of London and the National Gallery are both made of Portland Stone.

Sculptures

For my Sweetheart – Caen & Portland

This piece represents the growth of a relationship. The flowers are fully formed as the relationship is in full bloom. But this relationship is forever set in stone; it is a bunch of flowers that will never die.

Saline - Portland

Saline was inspired by the north coastline of Cornwall, and the surf that continuously pounds the coast, summer time, winter time, all the time. I wanted to capture the taste of the salty air when you breathe in, the smell, the way the air clings to your clothes. The spectacular wave.

A Thousand Thrills – Caen

Music. Music can be a major inspiration for me and I feel that this piece in particular sits well with the Populace Plays idea. Music can evoke an emotion and take a person away from the everyday and transport them. With headphones on a person is separate from the outside world, and in another place that can be calm, exciting, uplifting, sad, reminiscent and in fact it could be anywhere.
 

Mind of its Own – Richmonte Cream

The sea has a mind of its own. A powerful thing, I remember as a child watching the beautiful waves rolling, getting bigger and finally crashing against the shoreline. When I watch waves now they give me that sense of wonder I had as a child. 

The Soul of my Foot – Caen

This sculpture has really been inspired by the soles of my feet, I have walked in some fantastic places and my feet have felt incredibly diverse terrain. Seeing is believing and feeling is understanding. A foot passes an incredible amount of information to the brain, temperature, balance, texture, gradient, like, dislike, slippy? I enjoy visiting coves that have pebble beaches, they really inspire me, the feeling of ships that have sailed by and the people that have walked on them. The sound of the pebbles grinding against each other, almost as if they are telling the story.    

 We hope you enjoy this Monday dish of excitement, awareness, anticipation and pleasure.

See you at PP