SPECIES An Exhibition of Sculpture by Alumni of The Sculpture School

Monday 24th April – 1st May 2023, 10.00am – 4.00pm

The Sculpture School’s 2023 alumni show features the exceptional works of their most talented students

Admission FREE. Sculptures Available to purchase..

If you would like to know more please email: info@thesculptureschool.co.uk or call 01837 82879

 

LUCY D’AUVERGNE

Animals have been a lifelong passion and I have explored other species professionally through Filmmaking, Academic Research (MSc, PhD), Behaviour Consultancy, and Art. I have been privileged to work with a diverse range of species from great apes and big cats to red foxes and otters. I love to get beneath the surface of an animal – understand what makes it ‘tick’ as an individual and capture something of the energy of that individual in its natural state. This is what inspires and drives me creatively.

Bringing the threads of my scientific and creative pasts together to forge a path as an animal sculptor has been a long-cherished goal. Clay is a wonderful medium to explore movement and energy, and this ‘essence of being’ is what I am evolving in my work. With their unique approach to realist sculpture – blending anatomy and art – The Sculpture School has proved a perfect fit for my aspirations and has provided me with the opportunity to develop professionally as a sculptor.

I am a passionate conservationist and aim to use my work to spark interest, curiosity, and a deeper appreciation of other species – both the endangered, exotic species I have worked with in the past and the more understated species which share our own landscape.

HELEN GREENE

Creativity and my Love of Art have always been my driving force. Shortly after completing a degree in Fashion Textiles, I set up my own business, successfully designing commercial knitwear collections for many years, using my “makers skills,” to engineer yarns, fabric, colour and contemporary garment shapes.

​More recently and much later in my career, I have had the opportunity to follow my passion for sculpture. This resulted from an inspirational animal portrait course with Andrew Sinclair at The Sculpture School, on which I enrolled last May. Ever since, Andrew’s enthusiasm and anatomical knowledge and has inspired me to study and practise sculpture whenever I have had the opportunity. My specialism has been in equine sculpture, where I aim to portray the meaningful connection that I feel with horses. I try to capture their nobility, grace and soul, as well as express fluidity and movement in my work. The Sculpture School have also supported my newfound passion with technical expertise and enthusiasm in moulding and casting and in kindly inviting me to participate in this current exhibition.

JANE YOUNG

I always felt I could be a sculptor.  Andrew Sinclair and his colleagues at The Sculpture School encouraged that sculptor to emerge and start to flourish.  Their expertise, mentorship and scientific approach helped me lose myself for hours in form and function.  Living in the New Forest I am immersed in nature and find myself busier and busier sculpting daily in my home studio.  It’s sometimes hard to know where the time goes.

My passion for understanding animal and human interaction started during my degree, where I specialised in Zoology and animal behaviour.  My desire to closely observe the natural underwater world led me to learn to scuba dive.  I was fortunate to become part of a Reefwatch expedition, undertaking underwater research and conservation project in the Red Sea.

In my sculptures I look go beyond anatomy to convey the essence of the subject by instinctively capturing their character.  I am pleased to bring you the results – a collection of my early pieces:  undersea bronzes that are lifelike and abstract at the same time; a hare who owns all that he surveys and my best friend’s dog, Rufus.  She cried.  I hope you like them.

SARAH GOODFELLOW

“I am a fine art, realist figurative sculptor, fascinated by both the form of my subjects and by capturing their essence, whether they are animal, beast or human. I work primarily in clay, then use moulding, casting and colouring techniques to arrive at each finished piece or limited edition. I aim to breathe life into clay to fashion expressive pieces which convey emotion and, I hope, a deep connection with the viewer.

“Whilst my works are ultimately realistic, I will often leave parts of my sculptures rough to allow the unadulterated nature of the clay to remain. Threatening, alert, whimsical or joyful – my goal is that my work conjures an emotional response in the viewer and that you might join me in connecting with my creations through your own eyes.”

NATASHA WATSON

“I am a creative explorer. My motto in life is ‘have a go (at everything)’. This mindset, passed onto me by my late father, has seen me adventuring my way through life. I am a voracious learner and acquiring new skills and experiences is one of my greatest pleasures. My latest adventure has become my obsession. I completed a taster day with Andrew Sinclair at The Sculpture School and discovered a new passion.

“The structure of Andrew’s method, it’s dependability and simple rules mean that I can successfully create a sculpture without relying on the whimsy of my eyes and the deeply unreliable human brain. This, along with the creative process of constructing/shaping a form that has presence, exists in space and provokes emotion made figurative sculpture irresistible to me. For me, Sculpture is finding something that inspires me, capturing the character of that subject, enhancing it to the best version of itself and, ultimately, immortalising it.”

KAY THOMAS

As a sociable introvert, I am a lifetime observer and mostly ardent supporter of the human being, their rights, motivations, moods and passions. As a long-time creative business person operating in the corporate world, I see the conflict and pressures that impact us in our working lives and spill over into every corner of our world.

Combined with the impact of family trauma, dementia, chronic illness, and the death of a long-term soulmate, this results in sculptures with attitude, captured moments that reflect the power and frailty of the human condition.

In clay, and bronze, colour and monotone, I work with simple forms, strange partnerings, hidden fears, contradictions, secret desires, and unfinished stories. My aim through my work is to share the emotional response of our inner being, to strike some meaningful chord that resonates between artist and audience.

EM BURROW

I am interested in transforming surfaces and in manipulating forms by distorting and/or abstracting them.  This, for me, is a rich and exciting way of representing the natural world and the man-made one.  I enjoy creating sculptures which make you think, as well as quirky ones which make you smile.

The one-year course here at the School of Sculpture has given me a solid foundation for sculpting human and animal forms in an accurate, realistic manner. This is the starting point from which my artistic voice in 3-D work is in the process of finding its new creative expression.

I am currently exploring the technique of casting in clay and am developing a new body of work.

AMY MADDOCK

I have always been a creative, being ‘hands-on’ and getting ‘stuck-in’. Growing up in Suffolk I had the privilege of being able to be creative both in education and at home. My love for nature and seeing the beauty that surrounds me has been passed to me by my dad, whose constant encouragement has been a blessing when I wanted to give up and pursue a stable, but mundane, path through life.

A passion for sculpture emerged during A levels and hasn’t left me. I studied fine art at university, exploring historical and psychological themes, translating them into 3D artworks from the study of public art pieces and what they mean within our society. Post-university, I thought a place in the arts sector was unattainable – yet here I am! I am so grateful to Andy for giving me the opportunity to train as a sculpture technician. During the last one and half years, I have learned so many skills and continue to grow and develop as an artist. I truly feel lucky to wake up and be one of the few people in the world who genuinely loves her work.

My sculpture is strongly influenced by David Attenborough’s presentation of the animal kingdom. Our planet, from our oceans, mountains, forests, and skies have all changed dramatically over the last 2 centuries. I want to capture the beauty and wonder found within the natural world in my work, my aim being to represent all creatures, from the smallest animal to the largest. In my opinion, however, there is no better species to demonstrate the sheer power and vulnerability of the world than the African Lion.