nicholas rowsell

Nicholas Rowsell was born around midnight on the 17th/18th of August 1960 during a dry electrical storm, in Hackney, London. This fact, according to Nick, is “Perhaps the most interesting thing about me as apparently lightbulbs were popping like champagne corks”.
Nicholas first picked up a hammer and chisel with the intention of creating a sculpture in 1987 and has been carving one or more pieces of sculpture ever since and does not look like he is going to stop.
Nick was working as a stonecladder on a major building project in Berkley Square in the summer of 89. He was so taken by the Portland (whitbed) limestone cladding He decided to take a few offcuts back to his house in Plumstead and having also bought a couple of tungsten tipped chisels decided to have a go and see what occurred. Eagle/Parrot was what occurred then Demon Buddha then over the next year six small/medium pieces Portland sprang off his chisel culminating in `Elephant` carved from a reclaimed red sandstone sill. Showing his work to a group of Artists and Lecturers at Goldsmiths He received praise, encouragement and sound advice.
Nicholas went back to college for the second time at Weymouth` Dorset to study for his second City and Guilds in classical masonry and lettercutting.
He hasnt looked back since and has been steadily carving in both the public and private sectors, or adding more sculpture to create a formidable collection of stone sculpture substancial and original enough to be shown anywhere.
Nick Rowsell has managed to avoid cliche by mastering various carving skills and has rejected the more conformist path of understudying or pandering to market forces such as avoiding copying work for insurance damage.
Once ensconced in Weymouth/Portland Nick helped Weymouth promote its stone history with two major exhibitions in the mid 90`s. He also set about carving back to back and sometimes as with as many as three or four on the go simultaneously, some 35 pieces of sculpture between 1991-97` and when Nick decided to move to Newcastle Upon Tyne in 98`he bought 27 of those pieces with him.
Having sub contracted his skills out to masonry companies in that area for some years He eventually took a workshop/gallery in the Ouseburn part of Newcastle called Testhouse 5. It was here that Nick, along side private commissions, taught the many aspects of stonecraft from rudimentary bas-relief to fine art.
With a growing number of Civic and private commissions successfully executed Nicks reputation as a jobbing sculptor with a ton of flair, who carves what the client wants not what the artist wants, continues inexorably to rise.