From my first holiday in Wales on, I have always loved the welsh countryside. Many uhhhs or ahhhs and wow or super come from my mouth driving or walking through the ever-changing views of the horizon. And that hasn’t changed to this day.

There is one view, however, which is the most unusual and striking in my memory than anything else I have ever seen. And that is the mountains of slate-waste man created in the north of Wales, especially in Blaenau Ffestigniog. Mountains as high as the natural ones we have around our home town Abergavenny.

For many, they would probably appear ugly and depressing as they are very dark and they certainly determine the mood of the area, but I certainly think they are well worth a WOW.

It’s about 3 years ago when I really got into slate, and that was when Ralph decided to make a slate coffee table for our newly decorated living room.

So off we went to North Wales and again... "Ahhhhhhhh." What a site and what a material! By looking for our slate slabs for the table and having a good look around the workshop, we came across slate blanks in all forms and sizes. I got so inspired by the material that we ended up filling the car with masses of slate blanks.

As with the Pyrography, where I decorate the surface of wood (see my Heat Strokes page), I wanted to decorate the surface of the slate blanks and so I acquired an engraving machine which uses diamond cutters to cut into the slate. Here all my Celtic designs which I already used in Pyrography come handy and I am able to change the dark grey blanks and decorate them.

It’s an easy material to work with and every time I do, it reminds me of the awe-inspiring man-made mountains of Blaenau Ffestigniog. Click on the "PRODUCTS" button below to see photos.