Sculpture Ideas, using paper straws I have been learning the art of weaving Corn Dolly Style to create these twisting structures which will help inform the design of the sculpture. I would love to get these made with tubes of stainless steel to create huge spiral structures, but for this commission it would not be suitable as the finished sculpture will be sitting in a housing development and it would be too tempting for children to attempt to climb the structure. 

Thinking behind new sculptures

When I undertake a new sculpture commission, I feel it helps to have a base on which to form ideas and working on the commission for Mickleover has been no exception.

Nature and Heritage always repeats its self within my work wether it be the material choice or looking at a traditional craft or method of working, or be it taking inspiration from what has past.

Nature - This has always played a huge part in inspiring my work as it’s the only time I can truly switch off is when I’m in the garden getting my hands dirty weeding, it’s amazing how this period of quiet can alter the way you work and often the simplest of things can inspire your work. Nature offers so many forms, shapes, textures and tones you just have to take the time to look and explore.

Heritage - Many of my sculptures uses traditional materials such as willow to create shapes that reflect natures patterns, but other times it can be the traditional craft of weaving that can supply endless ways of fastening, linking and combining multiple strands. In addition to the traditional crafts and techniques is history itself, I have always found heritage fascinating and have delved into my own family history many times, but when a commission begins I love the chance to delve into a new branch of history. Joining the Mickleover History Society each month and compiling my own research has been a great source of inspiration and intrigue, I suppose that when you are creating a public art piece that has the potential to still be here long after I am gone, I like to think that one day someone will be delving into the history of the sculpture and enjoy finding out what inspired the artist.

So looking forward to the coming months I will be continuing my search on “The Trail of the Missing Sculpture” and looking at nature for inspiration and who knows what may be created? Only time will tell. 

Trail of a Missing Sculpture

At a recent visit to Mickleover I was introduced to the Mickleover Library User Group and they allowed me to join in and discuss with them my commission to create a new sculpture for the new housing estate. I explained that it was on the site of the old Mickleover campus of the University of Derby and my work was going to be featured.

After talking to them for a while one lady approached me and said that there used to be a sculpture on the campus of a mother and child and she wondered were it had gone.

This piece of information fascinated me so I have contacted the Alumni department of the University of Derby to see if they could help with any information about the sculpture in their archives.

Watch this space for updates as I search for the missing sculpture.

Leaving some of the clay bare adds another texture to the pattern.

The smaller pulses were great at creating a more detailed pattern

White beans are a popular choice were a visual impact was required  

Week 4. Patterns with seeds on clay tablets.

This week the children were all given a clay tablet and were asked to create patterns with a range of seeds and pulses paying attention to the tones and colours of the individual types of seeds and which worked well together.

Inspiration came from the traditional form of Well Dressing which is still carried out in many Derbyshire villages such as West Hallam. 

Student Comments

Heres just a few of the great comments about the natural art classes over the last few weeks:

“I have enjoyed the whole process. I have found that I wasn’t very good at first, but I can now weave fairly well. My favorite material was the willow; it’s texture and smell” Samuel

“I have enjoyed working with the Flanders Red Willow; although it smells, it is great for weaving and tying different strands. I was not very good at first but I have started to get the hang of how the material likes to bend and I have now made a few sculptures.” Kailem

“I liked experimenting with the willow as I have never used it before. I also liked the straws and making designs from out of the blue.” Megan

“I like using the straws better because it was easier to use than the willow was; and I enjoyed this whole process.” Jordan

“I thought the art straw process was good, the willow was tricky which made it fun, but on the other hand it smells.” Jonathan

“I enjoyed using the art straws as they were easy to use and I liked the look of the patterns I created through the twisting.” Emma

“I liked using the willow because you could make a lot with it, but I found the straws a lot easier to use, and they smell better.” Louise

“I thought the art straw was the easiest process we have done as the willow was a bit harder to work with but I have enjoyed working with all of them as it is something different to what we would normally do.”

“I have enjoyed working with the straws because it is easier to sculpt and was better to use when making smaller things; I didn’t enjoy working with the willow as much because it was too hard to sculpt. Overall I have enjoyed the process and learnt a lot of different ways to sculpt.” Ellie

“I really liked the weaving with the willow and the straws. I also liked the techniques we used on the first week and second week. The materials used were easy and fun to use.” Alex