Born in Shrewsbury, England, Zoë Wilson is a stone carver. She started working with stone in 2008 following a degree in fine art painting at Birmingham City University. She takes great pride in her craft and works as a self-employed carver creating unique hand carved artwork.
"Continuing the tradition of passing skills from master to apprentice has shaped my career and is at the heart of my work. My carving is simple in its manufacture, using only a mallet and chisel, but born from a wealth of knowledge gleaned from highly skilled craftsmen over the years.
Geometry relies on perfect accuracy to create intricate patterns. I feel our eyes have become accustomed to seeing the precision that machine production creates raising the bar for traditional crafts. I relish the demanding technical challenge of hand carving a geometric pattern that is satisfying to look. It requires meticulous precision in the execution of the carving.
The chisel marks seen in the finished carving introduce a character to the work, which eliminates the possibility of manufacture and reminds the viewer that this is handmade, small inaccuracies show the presence of the maker leaving a legacy with each mark.
Historically carving has always relied on light and shadow to complete the work and to bring it to life. This is something I continue to be interested in. As light moves across the carved geometric design with the passing of time, different areas become highlighted changing the appearance of the pattern.
Since living abroad for two years carving British stone has become increasingly important to me. I feel a strong connection with the material, it is my bedrock, where my roots are from.
The stone is incredibly tactile, the sharp edges of the cut against the smooth polished surface tempting the viewer to trace a finger over the surface, following the shapes as they merge into on another. The hard nature of stone combined with a flowing pattern is a contrast I really enjoy".
