I made these two heads in the 1980s near the house we lived in at the time on the Lancashire Fells. A welded steel/ wire mesh armature supports a shell of cement, to which I added fibreglass strands. They have weathered surprisingly well, given that the site is very high and exposed.
These large heads stand by a footpath across the fells so that it has been seen by lots of people over the years.
A photograph of it was once used on the cover of a music CD called The House of the Heads, and they are illustrated in a book of local walks.
Courtesy of Lancaster Central High School
In 1997 I wrote a novel, Pasiphae (pub. Dewi Lewis) which took as its subject the mythical story of the birth of the minotaur.
Courtesy of David and Rachel Clements
Courtesy of David and Rachel Clements
Whilst writing, I made a number of clay pieces relating to the story, images of Pasiphae, Daedalos and Icaros, and the giant, Talos.
Later, I was commissioned to make this large piece in steel/fibreglass, based on one of these images. My friend David Clements and I worked on it together.
I am not a craftsman and craft processes hold no particular attraction for me, though, over time, I have learned a few things.
Generally, the only things I have made in clay are pieces of sculpture, and irregularly shaped ceramics can be very difficult to fire, I soon learned. I began to use heavily grogged clay to avoid explosions in the kiln, until I encountered paperclay, which allowed me to produce objects of greater delicacy… and fragility.
Courtesy of David and Rachel Clements
Like many sculptors, I have been influenced by other work, other traditions. A number of my pieces are based, for example, on ancient Greek prototypes. Following a visit to Kajuraho in India I made images deriving from the temple sculpture there. Photographs of Inca/Aztec sculpture have also served as starting points.
The medieval wood carvings in the museum in Prague have significantly affected the work I have done since I saw them. Though they are carvings and I have never been drawn to carving myself, I identified strongly with the vision. The general principle seems to be that you imitate what you admire.
Courtesy of Peter and Liz Eastman
Courtesy of Peter and Liz Eastman
Courtesy of John and Sue Haines
Courtesy of Fran Challis and Trevor Wear
Courtesy of Fran Challis and Trevor Wear