Help preserve our future
West Dean is part of a registered charity and relies on the support of generous donors, friends, legacies to help us deliver world-class education in conservation and the creative arts and maintain our award-winning gardens.
Simon Keeley
Over the last 20 years Simon Keeley MA has been designing & carving stone carvings for important buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Westminster School & Harley street in London. In recent years he has won Gold & Silver awards for The Craft & Design Magazine. He runs stone carving classes from his workshop, and teaches at Arte Umbria in Umbria, Italy and The Community Art Room at St.John's Church at Bethnal Green in London. My greatest achievement to date was carving a half life sized St.Peter in Portland limestone - for St.Peters' Church, in Cockfield, Suffolk.
In the summer of 2015, he ran highly successful workshops at
Tate Britain in conjunction with The Barbara Hepworth
Exhibition.
Describe your approach to teaching:
I begin the course with a short visual talk of my achievemnts over
the years, the tools used for stone carving are all fully explained
clearly demonstrated, all stages of the carving are clearly shown -
I give individual guidance and 'hands on' practical tuition -
carefully monitoring each student during the length of the course.
Students are encouraged to continue carving stone in a home space
and continue with courses to nurture their development in their new
fascination for the world of stone!
What inspires your own work?
Nature - movements and flow of growing & living forms, texture,
moving water, landscape History, The Italian Masters, Cathedral
& Church Architecture, and the Human Body.