Creative Caversham – John Nicholls

Touching Beauty

WAITING FOR his wife on the steps of York Minster, John Nicholls noticed some new carving around the West Door and thought how wonderful it must be to work in stone. The opportunity to find out for himself came soon after when he took up a place on the National Trust course at Hardwick Hall. “Basically, they show you how to hold a chisel and make a groove – then they leave you to play around. For me, this one-day course has become a lifetime obsession!” John said.
Apart from going on a couple of letter-cutting courses, John has been entirely self-taught, since returning from Hardwick Hall with a few pieces of stone which gave him the possibility to carry on carving. “I started off with these, then after that I started visiting yards, where you get used to scrounging offcuts from them.
“I like working with limestone, which is actually very variable as a material. Sometimes it is quite crumbly, but it also can be as hard as granite.”
John has always had an interest in geology, and his career in town planning and urban regeneration gave him some insight into the materials used in buildings – “Now my knowledge has a practical application!” he joked. If he is working on a commissioned piece, he orders in the stone the client has chosen. “However, usually it’s the case that you obtain the stone… then work out what to do with it,” he explained. As well as limestone – he is currently working with Ancaster Weatherbed, a hard limestone which is speckled brown and blue/grey – he is also creating a representative piece of his own hands carving, in York stone – “a self portrait!” He enjoys lettering, as well as occasionally using metal leaf in his work.
He likes to work on quite large pieces, however since stone is so heavy he is realistic about the size of his sculptures: “It’s limited by what you can lift,” he said.
Having moved to Caversham from the East Midlands around 12 years ago, John has been making sculptures for around 20 years now. “One of the great things in moving to this area was that it was so welcoming, both the Henley Arts & Crafts Guild, and also the Oxford Sculptors Group. I work in our garage – in fact, as it can be very noisy and dusty when I start off a piece using electric tools I sometimes go into the woods so as not to annoy our neighbours!
“My wife Jeanne says it’s like living in a quarry – but she has been incredibly supportive and brings me lots of cups of tea!”
Once the basic shape has been achieved with electric tools, John then works on his sculptures by hand. “If the piece is abstract, I find I keep coming back, so it is difficult to say when the work is finished.
There is a plan – my work tends to start off with a doodle I have drawn, often during a meeting! However, the idea will then evolve as I go. On the other hand, some of my work is representational, for example I have sculpted a hare.”
Before becoming interested in sculpture  John enjoyed painting – however he rarely sold any of his work. “After I’d only made three sculptures, I put them into a local art show and they sold straightaway, and I have been selling my sculptures ever since!”
Since living in this area John has taken part in the Caversham Arts Trail on several occasions, as well as the Henley Arts Trail. And as a member of the Oxford Sculptors Group they exhibit in various Oxfordshire locations, including at Grey’s Court. “This year will be our ninth summer at Grey’s Court,” John commented. “We have around 80 members who make sculptures using a wide range of materials. There will be around 130 works exhibited, all for sale.
“I love talking to people at events and also doing demonstrations where you can encourage them to give it a go themselves. And it’s great when someone sees one of my abstract pieces and they get the idea of it and want to buy it.
“Touch really matters in appreciating sculpture, as well as sight. I encourage people to run their hands over pieces, and it’s especially moving when a partially sighted person does so and connects with the work.
“In fact, I find the best way for me to check on the detail of a work in progress is for me to close my eyes and to use touch to judge how it is working out.”