Future development

I’m also very interested and excited about working hard to develop sculptures that will fit into other contexts. In the past I’ve produced a series of one off plush toys based on the creatures from the children’s storybook ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ (see earlier posts). I intend to develop more collections of eco friendly plush toys, with my new found skills, to be sold in craft galleries around the country and boutiques in London. I also see potential for the sculptures, with some modification to the core, to be used as stop motion characters.

The Craft

To make the large sculptures I carve a basic shape core out of foam using files and then build up the finer details by needle felting over the top until the surfaces are dense with felted fibres. I exploit the various natural colours of the wool fibres, animal hair and recycled synthetic fibres to create depth and shading. I use a wet felting technique with various fibres and yarns to create the textured sheets of felt which I needle felt onto the surfaces of the sculptures. I later work into them with the whitest of all natural fibres, the beautifully reflective and touchable angora fibre, which creates more depth. Above shows the recently finished ‘White Stag’ sculpture.

In my current work my use of colour is subtle as I’m very concerned with capturing the spiritual 'otherness' of the subject and try not to draw attention away from the finer detail. I also believe that the natural colours of the fibres (whites, greys and golds) add character to the pieces; many people say they’re very regal looking with a softness and maturity about their character.

The Frozen Wildwood

Once upon a time the Wildwood of Britain was inhabited by giant tundra wolves, lynxes, wild boars and beavers. Having such a long and involved history there’s no wonder these animals dominate our myths and folklore. These white sculptures resemble mythological creatures, capturing an element of their huge presence in storytelling. Reinvented as soft sculptures, these lost beauties become cultural curiosities, thought provoking, and embodying nostalgic notions of the wildwood which they inhabited for thousands of years.

I wanted to recreate their world in these photographs, taken in the woods that I live next door to. The wild boar and beaver sculpture are still far from finished.

The lost beauties of our land

At the moment I’m also working on a collection of animal sculptures that are based on the last four big mammals to become extinct from Britain which are; the lynx, the wolf, the beaver and the wild boar. The history of the animals living alongside Britons is very interesting, from the giant mastiff dogs bred by the Celts (and envied by the Romans) to protect their stock from lynx’s and wolves to the last reliable and heartbreaking account of the last known set of beavers which tells of their inconspicuous nature at a time when their skins were much sought after. And the employment of wolf hunters to clear the land of the giant tundra wolves (a sub-species of the European wolves whose remains show that they grew to the size of Arctic wolves much bigger than their surviving European ancestors) that came to Britain about 4000 years ago on the last land bridge before the island formation.

Their relevance to the land upon we sit makes for an interesting background to the project and I will display the extensive research that I’ve done into their historic background in a timeline that will be put alongside the sculptures. By highlighting the local extermination of British fauna I’m trying to inspire the appreciation and preservation of our remaining fauna and also highlight a contemporary debate that is underway about the reintroduction of lost species.

White Stag

I’ve been working on the life size ‘White Stag’ sculpture for just over three months. It’s made out of natural fibres and I exploit the various natural colours of the fibres to create depth and shading. I also use various felting techniques to create tectured surface. My interest in the natural history of our country led me to a depiction of a red deer as a prototype for the practice I’m developing. The red deer is native to Britain and has an amazingly interesting history of conservation imposed by various Kings through the ages and as a result their habitat was preserved and has since been turned into reserves. The deer also have a history in gated parks and estates often kept as a status symbol and for hunting purposes by the wealthy landowners. I always try to capture the character and spirit of the animal, the red deer’s connections with royalty and lords throughout the ages inspired me to create quite a majestic looking character.