The Nightingale Diaries
Do you also need some birdsong therapy? These new diary entries are the soundtracks to my post-studio evening walks, that feed my obsession with birdsong, and the newly arrived nightingale in particular. Expect birdsong,…
Do you also need some birdsong therapy? These new diary entries are the soundtracks to my post-studio evening walks, that feed my obsession with birdsong, and the newly arrived nightingale in particular. Expect birdsong,…
As a life-long dance-lover, it’s no surprise that I have sought collaborations with dancers. But it’s more than that. I feel a strong connection between sculpture and dance. Sculpting, as with dance, is visceral, it’s…
I have been experimenting. Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry let me loose in the wax room. This new sculptural work-in-progress – Agony and Ecstasy – exudes the joy of dance yet the pain of pushing…
Sarah Jenkins is a fantastic model. It has been a real privilege to work with her again. Sorry Sarah for the cold, the heat, the corset-wearing, the pains in your legs and arms from holding…
In the heat of this exceptionally hot summer Sarah wears corset, dress and jacket, so I can continue to sculpt Emmeline’s clothing. Progress is slow but sure. Before I extend the skirt right down to…
So on go the clothes, layer upon layer. The skirt needs a lot of clay so we build an armature that goes around her legs, liked a hooped petticoat. Then I spend hours adding the…
In early summer, Councillor Andrew Simcock (Chair of the Emmeline Pankhurst Statue Campaign), Manchester City Council women councillors and women from the SafeSpots charity visit my studio to see the clay Our Emmeline in progress…
Call me traditional. As far as I’m concerned, the only way to get a convincing figure is to work with a model and start with the unclothed figure first. If it was good enough for…
I am often asked why I use models, as it adds time and expense. My response is to ask, how could you sculpt a convincing statue without working with a model? If you want your…
With Our Emmeline’s armature complete, there’s no time to waste. On goes the ceremonial first piece of clay. But with half a tonne of clay to add, I have to speed up. Fast enough for…
Tick. The first stage of the armature is done. The main scaffolding structure, including a ‘back iron’ to take the weight, is in place. From this early stage you get a strong sense of the…
UNVEILING ‘Rise up, women’ Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst Friday 14 December Between no.s 1 & 2 St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 3DE www.womanchesterstatue.org Timings updated 6 December 2018 The excitement is mounting. Only a month…