Yorkshire sculptor Janie Stevens shows us round her beautiful live work home in a village near York

The result is a beautiful body of work that is still growing and has enabled her to make an income from her artistic talent.

She has also realised that the dyslexia and ADHD, which hindered her academic performance at school, have aided her creativity and served her well over the years in her previous jobs as a cook and florist and when establishing and running a fundraising charity with her mother, Wendy Morrell.

The Emma Maltby Memorial Fund is in memory of Janie’s much-loved late sister who had bone cancer and money raised has helped to to employ learning mentors at the Teenage Cancer Trust Unit at St James's Hospital in Leeds so that patients could continue their education whilst undergoing treatment.

“Friends used to say ‘are you sure you’re not dyslexic’ but it wasn’t until my 30’s that I accepted that I was,”says Janie. “I’m a good reader but I am slow at processing information but in many ways that has worked in my favour. If I read something, I often have to read it again and if I go to an exhibition, I’ll spend days deeply processing it and understanding it, which I think is a good thing. I call dyslexia my super power.”

She discovered her talent for sculpting after enrolling on a course at York College. “I also realised that I am a direct carver. I don’t make drawings and clay models first, I just go for it, which is really freeing. I loved it but only dabbled in it after I’d finished the course and then during the pandemic, I took up my tools again,” says Janie.

“I sold a sculpture to a friend and I was elated because it was lovely having validation that my work was worth buying but I couldn’t be sure that she hadn’t bought it to please me so I decided to open a pop-up shop in York to see if strangers would buy my sculptures.”

She sold 26 pieces and has been happily designing and carving in stone ever since, trading as The Greenthwaite Sculptor. Janie describes her work as abstract, figurative and organic and almost everything she creates has a perforation in it, which she says: “centres me and my dyslexic brain and I love that natural light can shine through it. There’s something spiritual about that.”

She adds: “Sculpting also helps my ADHD because tapping on stone with a chisel and a mallet has a rhythm that is meditative and good for calming the mind.”

What was the garage was converted into a playroom for her sons but now they have grown up, it is her studio. It is home to all her equipment including her plinths, Tadcaster stone, soapstone, Portland stone and Zimbabwean Spring Stone, which she loves to work with.

It is also a glorious explosion of colour and interest thanks to her collection of leaflets, postcards and keepsakes, which she gathers from the events and exhibitions she visits.

The rest of her home in Upper Poppleton, which was built in the 1920’s, also reflects her creativity. She and her husband bought it 12 years ago and it is full of art, finds and keepsakes.

The property needed a new kitchen and so the couple invested in handbuilt wood cabinets which will stand the test of time. “I also bought a lot of furniture and other pieces from Wombell’s auctions but my husband won’t let me go anymore as the house is full,” she laughs.

Many of the ceramics in the kitchen are from Andalucia, where Janie lived for a time. The dining room, which has an original fireplace and panelled ceiling, features one wall in wallpaper from Little Greene and the rest painted in an aubergine colour. “We had the walls white at first but it wasn’t practical when the boys were young,” she says.

A big fan of The French House in York, which sells antique and vintage furniture, Janie invested in a table and chairs that will withstand the test of time.

The extra large sitting room is filled with enormous sofas from DFS and a coffee table from The French House while the curtains were made with fabric from Waltons Mill Shop in Boroughbridge.

There are two paintings by Ails McGee and one by Ruth Bellow, which are among Janie’s most favourite pieces, and her love of ceramics is also evident and includes a collection of Poole Pottery, while the bookcase features a collection of her own clay sculptures.

“Not everyone can afford to buy stone sculptures, which is why I have been doing some work in clay to make it more accessible,” she says.

The adjacent small sitting room features her sculpture in Spring stone, perfectly framed by a window and the foliage outside. Below it a small table from a junk shop that is topped with remarkably realistic faux hydrangeas from Aberford Interiors.

The curtain tie backs were Emma’s and are among many small reminders of her in the house. “I think Emma would be happy knowing that I am doing this,” says Janie. “Whenever I finish a piece I think of her.”

*For more details on Janie’s work you can visit www.thegreenthwaitesculptor.co.uk. You can also find her on Instagram at jane.stevens98