Happy New Year! It’s wet and windy outside and the beginning of another new Year.
2023 brought with it exciting events and opportunities.
Jurassic Whispers from the forge….
It was a slow start to the year, but with it came creative opportunities. I’ve always been fascinated with the Jurassic era, so being left to my own devices I decided to make the most beautiful large 1-meter Ammonite sculpture. A stainless steel ammonite sculpture is quite challenging but shows the beauty of nature’s golden section perfectly and it wasn’t long until a private collector snapped it up.
It was only a matter of time before I thought to make another dinosaur, and so the T-Rex reared its beautiful skull, and my second dinosaur sculpture was created measuring just over 1 meter, mounted upon a beautiful wooden plinth. I think creating a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex may have been that one step too far, plus my workshop just isn’t big enough……….
What I did manage to make, was another Stag sculpture, ready to put on a show at exhibitions around the forest, including the renowned New Forest Show. He now resides at the beautiful Chewton Glen Hotel, greeting the residents as they enter the hotel.
Remembering…
After a successful summer of exhibitions with the likes of Palais De Vaches, showcasing my Stag sculpture, and Beaulieu Sculpture Park showing a few of my smaller pieces, such as the small manta ray sculpture and the fun wild Boar, with various sculptures being shipped off to the likes of the United States and South of France, and many around the UK, the Autumn time had me thinking of my upcoming Annual Poppy hunt. Each year I feel the need to do something a little different, and 2023 I think didn’t disappoint.
Having discovered these stunning brass buttons whilst trawling the internet, dating back to World War 1 and 2, it made every bit of sense to add them to the center of my poppy sculptures.
Whilst I was adding them into each of the poppies it made me think of the reality of where they had come from, and once in the past a solider had worn this on his uniform with such pride, it made it all that more significant, and why every year we need to remember what these soldiers went through.
An incredibly successful Poppy hunt ensued, with all the wonderful locals of the New Forest getting involved, and as ever their dedication is wonderful, trying to find where I have hidden each poppy. I don’t think there was a poppy not found within 20 minutes of me posting the clue on my Instagram page. Once all the first 11 were found, the Auction of the other 11 I had made was underway. The top bids reached over £500 per poppy, through the incredible generosity of members of the public, and many service men and women.
I was completely blown away by the munificence of everyone and interest in the poppies. We raised a staggering £6,600 through the poppy hunt and auction of the 21 poppies, incredible!!
2024
So, back in 2024, with the wind and rain whipping around my workshop, another creative opportunity arises. Considering 2024 is the year of the dragon (which is actually my year…), perhaps this is where my journey takes me……. Stay tuned for future posts on my Instagram page…..
Happy New Year to you all, and I do hope it’s a good one.
