Ian Sherman

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artist statement

Observing flowing water and wind at work throughout Cape Breton’s coastal landscape has been a constant source of inspiration.  The
natural media I use for my work come largely from Cape Breton – beech, yellow birch, and elmwood from our own property, apple and cherry from old orchards, marble and dolomite from an historic quarry on the Bras d’Or Lakes.  My favourite medium, black walnut, comes largely from Vermont as do the Champlain Black and Verde Antique marbles that I incorporate into my sculptures and use for their bases.  I use only wood culled from dead or dying trees which, in the case of beech and yellow birch, offers the bonus of unusual spalting effects in the grain.  My primary tools are a wide range of gouges, chisels, files and rifflers. All my sculptures are created in the round, carved from single blocks or tree sections from which the final form evolves.

selected biography

A resident of Cape Breton Island since 1972, Ian Parkinson Sherman was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in the United States, graduating from Dartmouth College, Class of ’67.  He emigrated to Canada in 1969 and established his sculpture studio at Port Ban on the Cape Mabou Highlands coast in 1978.  Since then, his sculptures have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in both public and private galleries throughout Nova Scotia as well as in Montreal and Vermont, winning several best in show awards.