When I was teaching art, which I did for many years, I stressed the fundamental ‘Elements and Principals of design’. To succeed in abstracted forms requires just as careful ‘accuracy’ and balance here as in figurative drawing and sculpture.

On a visit to Tate Modern in London I recently looked at a great exhibition of Matisse’s cut outs. Over the several hours I was struck by his use of simple line , colour , balance , harmony and contrast. Very ‘basic’ things but oh, so effective.

Other elements include tone and texture: ones I particularly love as they relate to my sculptural works.

I have more recently expanded my view of human and natural form by adding different composite elements, ranging across bone , wax, metal, wood and Hebel ‘stone’ to create new, whimsical, sometimes surreal art works. Once again, using many different ‘media’ or elements requires great care and aesthetic skill to achieve effective balance and expression in an infinitely possible range of combinations.