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Steve Hyslop

Although Jerry’s Climbing Rocks sculpture, up-lit during the dark evenings of the Winter months, is positioned to be a focal point from the main entrance gate, the patio and the rear entrance to Coinross Garden Centre, any visitor to Taurus cannot fail to see Steve Hyslop’s Entrance Sign. Together with the Taurus Bull by the roadside, it is possibly the most photographed object at Taurus, encapsulating what Taurus is all about in one spirited touch of artistry and craftsmanship.

Moving to the Forest in the same year as Taurus opened on the Old Park site, Steve quickly gained a reputation for his expressive woodcuts. He ran many workshops for local children as a way of earning a living whilst developing the expertise required for this challenging medium. His first exhibition at Taurus was in 1997 and some of the earliest photographs taken in the Restaurant show his works exhibited on the walls.

Steve enjoys the Spanish lifestyle and the huge metal cutout advertising signs used by the Osborne Drinks Company throughout Spain were the inspiration for the Entrance Sign. Although the Bull motif clearly connects to the name Taurus, the choice of the Minoan bull, with attendant acrobat, derives from

Dirk Rohwedder’s desire to communicate Taurus’ sense of playful creativity, together with the strong sense of purpose that underlies its position in the local community. Dirk, with wife Isa, founded Taurus with the aim of creating a workplace and visitor centre celebrating craftsmanship, be it in the products made or sold, or in the environment created.

Steve built the sign from scrap materials found either lurking in his houseboat moored on the River Severn or from the Lydney scrap yard. What must be a familiar story among artists and craftspeople is the way in which a simply conceived piece of work develops into a lengthy labour of love. In this case a one-day commission became a fortnight’s work of execution. It became a learning exercise. Hardened steel chain used to portray the mane of the bull had to be welded to ordinary iron sheet, a task that necessitates the knowledge of special heating techniques. The skill of cutting out shapes with an oxyacetylene blowtorch needed to be mastered. And all had to be carried through with a confident and expressive gesture.

For practical reasons Steve needed to mount the sign on a high pillar. It had to be sturdy, in case it suffered knocks by cars. For these reasons he used the trunk of a huge fallen oak, which arrived by lorry in just its raw state and was supplied by the Forestry Commission.

Steve used a chain saw and chisels to form the formidable, but elegant obelisk, which now supports the Bull and Acrobat motif. Almost as much wood is sunken into the ground as appears above ground, and an off-cut from the trunk was used for the directional sign itself. Here, once again, Steve had to master a new technique - that of scorching the carved letters to make them clearly visible. In retrospect Steve realises that what had started as a functional sign had evolved into a sculpture – his first major sculptural work.

Steve’s Courtyard Signpost could be viewed in the opposite sense. It was conceived as a piece of sculpture, having a practical function. Once again he constructed it from scrap material, riveting the pieces together to achieve a jewel-like appearance. The red glass re-enforces this effect. As an artist working in woodcuts Steve often had to cut out letters. With this technique one masters the skill to chisel letters in reverse. Using the oxyacetylene torch to ‘cut out’ letters in metal, and for the letters to be readable from either side, meant Steve having to develop a sandwiching solution. A thin metal strip separates back and front of the signs. Any lettering, be it carved into stone, cut out of wood, or burnt out of metal, requires the individual letters to be spaced to provide a legible and aesthetically pleasing result. It is fatally easy to make a mistake that results in the work having to be scrapped and
re-started.

For Steve, the word Restaurant has a special meaning and memory!

Took a foundation course in Fine Arts at Plymouth College of Art and Design followed by a three-year degree course studying printmaking at Cheltenham College of Art. Gained B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art

Exhibitions include: Norwegian Church, Cardiff; Cinderford Artspace; Print Exchange with Dean Arts in Hungary; ‘Blood, Sweat and Ink’, Stroud, Glos; Gloucester Docks

His main influences are: Jose Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican woodcut artist whose images offer pain and fury, wit, laughter and love

Antonio Fransconi, An Argentinian artist whose posters were posted in neighbourhoods, and more commonly visible and affordable than other forms of fine art

Munakata Shiko, a Japanese master of modern print who successfully merged ancient with modern and Japanese with western styles

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