Category: Latest News

I’m very excited to be showing my sculptures at Beaulieu Sculpture Exhibition this summer. The sculpture park is in the most beautiful setting, and you can visit over this summer, up until 30^th August.

Not only are there hundreds of amazing sculptures to see, but you can also visit the historic Palace, and not to mention the incredible collection of cars they have on show. It’s a perfect day out for the family.

The sculptures I have on show are the Peregrine Falcons, my Horse bust, a lion, and the Leopards head. You can get up close and personal to all of them.

So head on down to Beaulieu, and whilst you’re at it, if you take any photos of my work, be sure to ‘tag’ me on Instagram @michaelturnerstudios

Sculpture at Beaulieu Exhibition

NEW FOREST POPPY HUNT

Wednesday 4th 2020 7am-5pm(wish…)

Due to coronavirus the government have had to start a second Lockdown. This has meant that my usual

New Forest Poppy hunt has had to be bought forward  by a few Days.

#lestweforget

Every now and then I have time to explore different artistic avenues. I enjoy having this time to challenge myself and perhaps look at something totally different to what I have done before.  This is how my Crocodile on a Box garden sculpture came about, and to date It still stands as one of my most popular pieces for people to buy. As an artist, I do love a bit of satire on occasion. I like people to look at some of my sculptures and have a huge smile on their face. It doesn’t have to have a to have a real deep and meaningful message, a smile or laugh of appreciation will do just fine.

So, when I do get the rare time to myself, I like to ‘let those creative juices flow’ (sorry for the cliché….)

From my love of motorbikes, which once upon a time I owned, (much to my mothers’ disappointment….). Until my bike met a car and put an end to that particular love affair. But I still appreciate the work that goes into these great machines, and the detail of such a Motorbike as the iconic Harley Davidson.

Making a Harley, I thought, wouldn’t be too taxing… I was wrong. The detail that had to go into this, probably made it one of my most time-consuming pieces of garden sculpture to create to date. The wheels, the spokes, the engine parts, all had to be just right, and not only this, the Harley itself has to be strong enough to take the weight of a human, or, as I decided, a great big gorilla, with attitude….

So, the gorilla on a motorbike idea was born. It took me the best part of 4 months to build. He had many admirers, and like all my sculptures, when ready, we had a photo shoot with Carrie Bugg, my faithful photographer, that helps me bring all my sculptures to life, through her awesome photography skills.

The lovely people at Lymington Coastal Gallery (Bev and Stewart) who continually support me and other local artists, asked for the Gorilla on a motorbike sculpture to attend a local business opening, called ‘49’ in Lymington. The Gorilla and I met the local MP Sir Desmond Swayne, photo opportunities all round, for an MP with a rather different and quite unique garden sculpture……

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And then, earlier on this year his presence was requested again at a Charity event in the New forest…… The event had an Out of Africa Theme, and was in aid of an amazing charity called Regain. My Gorilla on a Motorbike was perfect in this setting.  The evening was set against the most beautiful back drop, of the river, manicured lawns, Tiki torches with the most incredible house where the charity event was set to begin.

Our amazing hosts couldn’t have been more generous to let this happen within the grounds of their beautiful home. Gordon the Gorilla caught the attention of the guests and was generally the most ‘selfied’ Gorilla there….. Actually, he looked so incredible within this setting that the owners of that particular amazing house, decided that he should stay on as a permanent fixture, and bought him right there and then ( of course a nice amount of the sale went to the charity).

He now sits comfortably looking over this incredible house, set amongst beautiful manicured gardens, and a Lake. I think he’s in his element really…….

There’s no telling where my work is going to end up, it could be 10,000 miles away in Argentina or 10 miles away in the New Forest. Either way, its always intriguing for me, at the beginning of any new sculpture, to guess what its journey is going to be……

Michael Turner is a Stainless Steel sculptor, based in the New Forest, UK. Michael creates beautiful bespoke stainless steel garden sculptures to clients all over the UK and Worldwide. They are all unique and beautiful garden sculptures, from the tinyest of Geckos, to the biggest of Gorillas. You can see many unique pieces of Michael’s work that you may not necessarily see here on the website, if you follow him on Facebook or Instagram

Michael is happy to take on commissions, if you have any personal requests you can get in touch through the website or contact him on Facebook/Instagram.

Game of Thrones inspired Dragons Egg

Game of Thrones seems to have gone ‘Epic’ as the kids say! When my wife started to watch it, I thought she was a little bonkers to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I love Epic movies / series, but Game of Thrones just isn’t my kind of thing. I’m much more a Star Wars kind of guy, give me Sci Fi any day.  In the past I have been known to make the odd Star Wars inspired pieces, like C3PO and R2D2. Not to mention I gave the X Fighter a good go, and I have to say, I was pretty pleased with all of them.

So, what better way to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to my wife, than by making her a Game of Thrones Dragons Egg! Making it was actually quite similar to making the scales on my Crocodile sculpture. Each piece cut into diamond shapes, and I gently knocked the pieces with a hammer to shape them. Piecing it altogether, to make the Dragon Egg.

Now for the really cool part!….

I commissioned the very talented Jo Vane, the British jewellery designer. She made the bracelet, that would go along with a necklace I had previously had made by Jo, for my wife, Jenny. Both the necklace and bracelet had our children birth stones set inside. I then made a space inside the Dragon’s Egg sculpture, for the box which held the bracelet inside (keeping up?…)

When the day came for my wife’s birthday, and she opened her present, I think she was pretty pleased with the Dragons Egg.  Her face lit up, when she realised that she was actually able to open up the Dragon Egg, to find the Jo Vane bracelet If you want to see the little movie of my wife opening up the egg, you can see it here on my Facebook page.

So, brownie points to me I guess! I love making these gifts, knowing they’re going to last a lifetime. One small problem is I think I may have raised the bar quite high, and I think my wife expects another sort of egg next year!…… I swear I heard her say something about a Faberge?……

If you would like to spoil a Game of Thrones enthusiast with a similar dragons egg, I’m happy to make one for you. Just get in touch. 

Michael Turner is a Stainless Steel sculptor, based in the New Forest, UK. Michael creates beautiful bespoke stainless steel garden sculptures to clients all over the UK and Worldwide. They are all unique and beautiful garden sculptures, from the tinyest of Geckos, to the biggest of Gorillas. You can see many unique pieces of Michael’s work that you may not necessary see here on the website, if you follow him on Facebook or Instagram

Michael is happy to take on commission, if you have any personal requests you can get in touch through the website or contact him on Facebook/Instagram.

Regain and UNICEF Charity Events

Its been a while! So, I thought I best write my summer blog! What a great couple of months we’ve had here. I’ve been so privileged to be asked to not 1 but 2 great charity events in the UK. The first event was in aid of Regain, which is the only charity dedicated to improving the independence of all British men and women who have become tetraplegic through sports injury. For my small part, I donated one of my seahorses, and we attended the most amazing night, held in a private home in Beaulieu. We got to meet the incredible people that have been directly affected and helped through this amazing charity.

The Second event, was the UNICEF soccer aid Gala dinner, held at the Science museum in London. I was truly flattered to be asked to be part of the event and help raise money for UNICEF. Not only was it a great night for the charity, I got to meet some of my sports heroes in the process. Mo Farrah was the kindest, and most generous of his time. He even gave me some tips on how we can encourage our son to Run and enjoy it! We met so many celebrities that night, my wife and I had to pinch ourselves. I was really proud to be able to be part of such a great event. Even my Crocodile sculpture got to have a few selfies with the rich and famous!

So, back down to reality with a Thud! I’m back in my workshop, enjoying this incredible weather we’re having, working on my next commission, which is 3 flying Geese sculptures. These are ready to be installed this week, and I’m looking forward to seeing the end result once in place in the client’s home.

Once that’s finished, I have a sculpture to complete, ready to fly out to Texas in the USA. That’s the great thing about my job, I’m lucky enough to have my sculptures reside in America, France, Africa, Switzerland, Dubai, even as far as Australia.  I’m not sure how far reaching this could go, who knows, perhaps one day I could have work on Mars?…….. Always good to have a goal to work to I suppose……

Michael Turner Studios – Poppy Hunt 2018

Wow, what a weekend to Remember! November 11^th, each year, for the past 4 years I have had the pleasure of helping to raise as much money as possible for The Royal British Legion, by way of a poppy Hunt……

My idea of the hunt came from my Free art Friday giveaway, when I like to make a little something, hide it in the local area, and post a photo onto my Facebook page of where I’ve hidden it, and then wait for someone to find it (finder keepers!!…) So, from that, 4 years ago, wanting to commemorate and remember my Grandfather, who fought in the second world war, I decided to make 11 poppies, and hide them around the New Forest, throughout the day, for people to find and then donate what they could to the Royal British Legion.

I was astounded at just how many people wanted to get involved, and that first year was emotional, but also a really positive experience. So, that’s how it began, four years into it, and I’m still loving it, more and more people getting involved, and it seems to create community spirit, with a little friendly banter involved to boot!….

This year I asked people to give me details of people they knew who fought in the war. They gave me names and service numbers, so that I could then punch the service numbers into the petals of each of the 11 poppies. This then gave the poppies more of a true meaning, remembering 11 service men and women who fought in the war. Making sure we will remember……

Another good thing to come out of the poppy hunt, for me, is having my children involved. They love helping hide them, and then watching when people find them. Its been a great way to help them understand why it is we do this every year, and how their Great, Great Grandparents fought in the war.

Im already thinking of how different I can make it for next year, Bigger and better than the last. Watch this space! If you want to get involved, you just need to like my Facebook or Instagram page to be in with a chance of finding either a poppy, or a little pieces of Michael Turner Studios Artwork.

For past Media coverage on my Poppy Hunt please visit BBC