I love going to the quarry - such expectancy, excitement, energy.  I feel at home there, in heaven there.

The visit is to select a piece of stone for a commission I have for carving a Barn Owl - the stone is perfect - it is Tadcaster Limestone and is buttery yellow with charcoal coloured speckling, with a light veining.  It is quite daunting when I arrive - there are so many blocks of stone to choose from and I’m tempted to buy large quantities, and lumps bigger than I need.

I exercise restraint and find some lovely pieces for stock, but continue to search for my Owl piece.  I’m handling pieces, turning them and arranging them as if they were the completed sculpture - where does (will) the colour appear, is the speckling spattered in the right way (like owl feathers).  In handling, the pieces talk to me and some feel kind, and they are lifted onto my trailer.  Finally, I select a lump - it is larger than I need, but the colour and markings are beautiful.

The enormous hole of the quarry is awe-inspiring, I stand against and hug the vast wall of stone and stand on a block as huge, it is damp and smells good and I ask its favour and explain my desires.  It gives me strength.

The journey home is a dream - I keep glancing at the stone following me in the trailer, and talk to it and carve it in my mind - working out exactly where the tail and wings will be, and the beak.  I enjoy unloading, a clean pallet awaits and the blocks are neatly stacked - my owl piece is hauled onto my workbench.

I handle it, admire it, draw on it and chisel it.

Before I show you the progress stages in my carving of the Barn Owl, I wanted to let you see Lingberry Owl.  This is a small owl, carved in Lingberry Sandstone and this shape kept pressing to come out, and invading my thoughts, and actually became quite distracting.   I gave in, and made him.

And so it is in the process of deciding on a particular form for a sculpture, many, many other shapes demand attention and working through.  Some of these are laid aside in the drawing process, others are given closer scrutiny.   An idea can emerge, which seems brilliant, but I am unsure if it will work in stone, so I experiment by making maquettes, lots of little sculptures (in my case usually made of clay or plaster), as ‘practice runs’.   With these I can resolve areas I am unsure of, and see if an idea will look good as a scaled up, finished piece.

So now this little chap is out, I have room for clear concentration on the actual carving. 

We are pleased to announce the grand opening of HSIAO-CHI TSAI’s new online store!

You could now browse, purchase or commission both Hsiao-Chi Tsai’s Sculptural Jewellery Range and Interior Art products Online!

Hope you enjoy it, and please spread the word for us who may interested in Hsiao-Chi Tsai’s work!

A Very Warm Welcome to You !!!

To celebrate the grand opening of our new online store, we are offering FREE UK NEXT DAY DELIVERY on EVERY product purchased from HSIAO-CHI TSAI Textiles until 31st of December 2010 !!!!

We will wrap and protect your purchases carefully, and deliver to your UK address for FREE, by Next Day Special Delivery, Parcelforce 24, or Courier Service, depends on the sizes.

Free Delivery applies to every product range from a luxurious hand crafted jewellery with gift box, to a 2.5 m tall Art Installation Christmas Tree!

Oversea customers can benefit from receiving discount international shipping rate ( full shipping cost minus UK next day delivery cost) during promotional period!  

A Huge Grand Opening Promotional Discount Not to be missed !!!!!!

Hi My name is Perryn and today my son Felix and I have been peopling my Mini Site with products. It is quite laborious. Thank goodness for sons as I am a twit on computers. I really hope this works and brings handmade products to more people. They may be more expensive than shop things, but they are so much more special and people think you have really made the effort instead of just going to Argos.

I have just finished a commission for Lamphey school in Pembrokeshire.  It was a centenary project with two large  carved panels in stone depicting school life in 1910 and the other in 2010. It took four people to lift each one!  I will be putting pictures on the services section soon.

For my commissions, I specialise in telling a story through relief pictures in stone, sort of story telling in stone. I have a few on my website, mostly historical subjects. We have just had a week of fantastic weather down here in West Wales and I have made the most of it. I am carving a mother and daughter in limestone and will finish it in a couple of days. Then I will make the base for it to stand on. I will post it on the minisite soon.