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Despite the occasional raised eyebrow, it turned out that my neighbours were quite tolerant (and occasionally appreciative) of this new imposition in their visual environment.

Rear View

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These leaves had been used in a previous work and I was looking to exploit them again for their hardiness and constant presence as they are shed all year round. I reckoned that the work would be in flux visually as the old leaves aged and rotted, and new ones were applied.

Site Preparation

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As the location I chose would take the full brunt of the sea gales, it was important to anchor the piece well. I dug up a section of earth and sought out the largest rocks and blocks to secure to. I decided to use the fallen leaves of the cordyline tree in the background on the surface.

Design sketch

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Upon arrival to live and work at this studio, I submitted a project application to the local art centre proposing an exhibition in their gallery. This sculpture was to be one of the central pieces of the show. Unfortunately the proposal was refused. So I decided instead that if the worthy burghers of the town didn´t consider my stuff good enough for their space, I´d at least put this one outside in the hope that my own neighbours and the occasional passer-by wouldn´t also voice their objections.

This was the first work I ever located outside. For decades I´d been making indoor sculpture which was basically oil on canvas taken to 3 dimensions and (as no-one ever wanted them) I was ever on the hunt for storage space. However the owners of those spaces mostly ended up eventually dumping the artworks.
Anyway, the current studio has a garden and for the first time I have lots of place outside to put the stuff.
I wanted to make a free-standing work robust enough to withstand the gale-force Atlantic winds coming off the sea and from over the lake. A piece large enough to leisurely walk around that reflects, by way of it´s form, the simple rustic environment.

First Disc (in progress)

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I then basically spent the rest of the winter inside on the boring work of building the three discs, the eventual heights of which were determined by the low doorway.

Preparing The Wire

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Ten years later I finally got to dedicate the time for the project. Unfortunately the wire was a woven type that had no rigidity and would collapse by itself in an untidy heap on the ground. My job over the following winter months was to cut and twist a strengthening wire around every single link where the weaves met. It was a hideously tedious job however it made the wire more robust and provided structure.