By Gillian Kerrush

Published at 11:46, Monday, 11 August 2008

WEST Cumbrian sculptor Shawn Williamson has been elected a fellow of the prestigious Royal Society of Arts.

Chipping away: Sculptor Shawn Williamson

Shawn is best known for his giant statue of the Herdwick ram on the A66 roundabout near Cockermouth and the lion statue on Workington’s Oxford Street.

He was nominated for the award in recognition of the work he has done in bringing an educational element into the arts and getting young people involved with big projects.

Shawn, of Gote Road, Cockermouth, was the man behind the Cumbria Rock Sculpture, the community arts programme which created both the statue of the Herdwick ram and the lion statue, to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Originally from the Lancaster and Morecambe area, he came to west Cumbria in 1998, having been a stonemason and professional stone sculptor since 1984.

His tutor was Josefina de Vasconcellas, who worked for much of her life in the Lake District, including some time at Isel Hall, near Cockermouth, and who died in 2005 aged 100.

He now devotes much of his time to working for charities she set up to give people the chance to make their own creative output.

He began his work in west Cumbria when Groundwork West Cumbria asked him to start sculpture workshops for community groups.

These included young offenders and the long-term unemployed, and many of their work received national acclaim, including the A66 Herdwick, which was unveiled by Prince Charles.

Now working solo as Shawn Williamson Art and Craft Training, he is working on a voluntary basis with the Josefina de Vasconcellas Trust.

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