STEPHEN KETTLE

Stephen Kettle was born in Castle Bromwich Birmingham in 1966 and now lives with his wife Sue and two children in West London. After leaving school, Stephen served seven years in the Royal Navy and left the service in 1989 to work in his Father’s construction business. It was during the following 15 years that Stephen honed his skills that he now employs in his sculptures, using techniques that were passed to him from his Father and a host of other tradesmen along the way.

As a sculptor, Kettle is officially a self-taught artist and has received no formal training in art. Stonework is the core of his identity with each piece of slate touching its neighbouring slate on both sides as well as from above and below. Although the slate is held together with an adhesive (that is his own invention), none of the adhesive is visible due to the tightness and accuracy of the stonework. This is no mean feat as the majority of slates are of different thicknesses and are seldom perfectly flat.

FEATURED ARTWORK

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Unlikely artist and ex-human catapult Steve Kettle explains his fascination with slate and the enormously detailed works he painstakingly constructs - each containing his DNA! Works include a bust of CHurchill presented to Obama by the British P.M. Born in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, and now living in Shepperton, Stephen Kettle spent 7 years in the Royal Navy before becoming a plasterer doing plain and decorative work. This formed the foundation for the skills he uses today as a sculptor in stacked slate. A self-taught artist, a life-changing moment in 2002 led him to devote himself to art full-time. His sculpture of the code-breaker Alan Turing is on public view at Bletchley Park. Stephen’s story takes us from the navy to life as a human catapult to extraordinary stories in stone. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Stephen Kettle does life size sculpture of Alan Turing 500,000 pieces of slate

His works range from miniature to monumental with both figurative and abstract pieces in Museums and private collections and are viewed by over three million people each year. His best-known works are statues of R.J. Mitchell (designer of the legendary Spitfire which is now owned and permanently displayed at the London Science Museum) and Alan Turing, mathematician, wartime code-breaker and intellectual parent of the computer. The Alan Turing statue is permanently housed at Bletchley Park where it has gained much media attention in recent years. Kettle also has a bust of Winston Churchill in the Darrah /Harwood collection at the same site.