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Unpainted riven Welsh slate. Ambleside churchyard, Cumbria.

An unusual stone: not only for its shape, but for the fact that it’s a ledgerstone (ie flat on the ground), and it spans the foot of one grave and the head of the adjacent one below. In the one the mother, and in the other her son: this stone is for the two of them. And, because both were keen bird-watchers, I wanted to find a bird image that enclosed them together. The two large incurving feathers which border the whole stone were the ideal solution. In addition, together they delineate a shape which also formed a common mother/son interest: rugby! The natural riven surface into which their names and dates are cut, contrasts well with the polished sculptural forms of the feathers.

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