It was while a merchant seaman on the Great Lakes and the Eastern Seaboard of North America and Canada that Shawn discovered his love of stone carving and the Inuit of Lake Superior taught him to carve in soapstone. On returning to Britain, he continued to develop his new direction and qualified as a stonemason from Weymouth Technical College. Later, while developing his career as a sculptor undertaking large-scale public commissions, he gained a degree in Art & Design at Lancaster University.

Shawn had already had his first major public commission when he met sculptor Josefina de Vasconcellos. In her eighties at the time, she was Antoine Bourdelle’s pupil and assistant, who in turn had been assistant to Rodin. It was through working with Josefina that he realised the great artistic heritage of the Lake District, in terms of both art and literature.

Shawn creates mainly innovative new work for public spaces using traditional craft techniques, often using the more unusual stones found in Cumbria, such as carboniferous limestone, Shap granite and Kirkstone slate. Much of his carving is done direct, a technique made popular between the 30s and 50s under the banner of “truth to materials”.

As did Josefina, Shawn includes where he can a training element to his work. He has worked with a wide range of community groups, from probationers and young offenders to students of all ages and levels of achievement right through to graduates. He sees the craft process as being beneficial to others. Now that the apprentice system has all but disappeared, a training opportunity created around an art project can help young people adjust better to their society.

Shawn was instrumental in the creation of Cumbria Rock Sculpture, primarily a "New Deal" initiative designed to provide jobs in the arts and crafts. He brought several prestigious commissions to the project and was able to pass on his experience both as maker and trainer to young students, who produced a wide range of sculptures and stone seats for public spaces.

Shawn continues to offer training opportunities where funding is available to do so.

To date Shawn has undertaken many significant commissions for churches, local authorities, regeneration companies and charities, as well as private individuals and commercial clients, such as Sainsburys.

He continues to produce high quality and thought-provoking work in stone and other materials. Ultimately, his aim is to continue working with the themes of spirituality and movement in stone.