Alicia Charlton was drawn to sculpting in 2000, when she found herself at “Lund’ys Sculptures”, the studio of Maurice Lund.  As soon as she stepped foot in the building Alicia knew it was where she was meant to be.  Maurie hired her without any previous training and they worked together until the day he retired, over three years later.  Using softer stones such as soapstone and alabaster they created both traditional northern wildlife pieces and 'Attitudes'. Alicia continued carving, being blessed with the gift of Maurie’s tools after his retirement and in 2004 she discovered a fascinating new tool and medium.  Picking up the chainsaw taught Alicia a whole new way of carving, a technique that was both challenging and quite rewarding allowed for larger scale pieces to be created out of wood in a whirlwind of sawdust and speed.

Alicia has always found carving to be an out of body experience.  Her arms move on their own accord as she merely watches until what her mind sees becomes reality.  The pieces are inside the stone and wood, just waiting to come out.  They move like a flower in the wind until they look ‘right’ and then Alicia brings that image out.  Polishing the completed piece by hand is a very soothing practice.  Hours disappear as water trickles down, warming the stone and washing the sanding dust away until the sculpture is as smooth as glass. Time spent in sanding wood immerses you in the scent of timber while the grain slowly emerges. 

Sculpting is something Alicia would never have dreamt she would be doing but now she cannot imagine doing anything else.