High at the top of the moss steps, Alison Crowther’s ‘Ellipsoid’ calmly rests amongst the moss and spring flowers. Painstakingly carved from Oak, the piece feels at one with its surroundings as it surveys the rest of the Sculpture Garden. 

Alison Crowther has been carving sculpture and sculptural seating for over twenty years. Her knowledge and sensitivity for the giant plants is clear thought her work as she uses traditional tools to draw attention to the features that occur naturally in the wood. 

“For her bench-come-sculptures and other objects, Alison hand-carves great trunks of unseasoned English oak to compliment the natural environments in which they are displayed and used. She embraces the natural characteristics of the oak and, guided by the grain and annual rings, her carving forms winding, organic structures. The surfaces, exposed to the elements, are in a continuous process of change and refinement as weathering and seasoning 'silver-down' and form part of the wood's history.

Alison works ethically, carefully considering the implications that her work and working methods have on the environment.  Choosing exclusively English oak, she sources the timber she uses from woodlands that are managed to the highest standards and which are continually renewed.”