I am lead by the rock. I select stones with which I have an strange affinity; sensing either a movement or form, as though the stone has a kind of personality. I live with them until I see what it wants to be. Carving is for me is instinctive.  As I work more closely with the rock, as one with the stone, my skill level rises as I percieve more. I carve until I reach a kind of skin and the sculpture takes on a life of its own.  Discovering I could carve, was like discovering a language I could speak (whcih I didn't realise I could speak). When I carve I feel closest to my maker. I strive for beauty that touches people so that when they meet the 3d physicality of the sculpture, it has impact and they have an emotional and spiritual encounter. 

Deborah is an award winning professional contemporary sculptor who specialises in stone. She discovered carving in her middle years at an arts festival and hasn't stopped carving since. 

She carves indoor and outdoor pieces from a wide variety of stones. Deborah works together with the stone’s shape, grain and colour until she reaches a kind of skin and the piece takes on a life of its own. Influences on her practice include human and organic forms, social justice and her faith. Her sculptures are a combination of abstract, figurative and prophetic works.

This year, Gloucestershire NHS Trust purchased her sculpture called ‘The Hand of Fannie Storr’ to celebrate their first regional director of nurse training. It will be on display at Gloucester Royal. Other works can also be seen at the RWA, SWAc, Delamore Arts and the OXO Gallery on London’s Southbank. 

Deborah is a founder member of the Cotswold Sculptors Association which after only three years has around 100 members. She is based at Gloucester City works; the site of an old shirt factory where she tutors 3D stone carving courses, for all levels of ability, and works closely with her clients to produce commissions.