Article published in the December 2007 issue of The Artist
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Masterclass - Carol Peace
Although fashion-conscious art buffs might regard figurative painting and sculpture as an outdated form of expression, it nevertheless continues to attract a strong following. In part, its sustaining quality comes from the fact that it is an accessible form of art – something that everyone can relate to. Unlike so much abstract and conceptual work, figurative art is not aloof, perplexing, remote or quasi-intellectual. And it does not need a label or catalogue to explain it!
Instead, as demonstrated in the wonderfully sensitive sculptures of Carol Peace, the best examples of figurative art can appeal to our feelings, to our empathy and understanding of the human predicament. For Carol, figurative work offers greater scope for individual expression, leading to more rewarding results. “I just feel I have more to say by using the figure,” she explains, “and I enjoy the various aspects and challenges involved – particularly in creating the form of each sculpture and in developing and using my drawing skills.
"My work has always been concerned with the human form and I have always used clay. I like the way that the mood of each sculpture is defined by the handling and texture of the clay. Rough textures and lines can suggest rhythms of movement, while detailed work creates a feeling of stillness and intimacy. I think in some ways using clay has similar qualities to the two-dimensional work that I do in charcoal and oils. For example, I might work quickly, as I would in charcoal, so that the forms are found, often changed over and over, and sometimes lost. And if I work the clay slowly, similar to how I use oils, the work is less impulsive and more precise. I cast each piece in bronze or iron resin, and here again the patina, often dark in the low lights and light on the highlights, will help in determining the form and character of the sculpture."
Form and feeling
The themes and ideas that Carol explores in her sculptures are inspired principally by the way people behave and react towards one another, and additionally of course they are influenced by her own feelings and life experiences. In Allies, for example, the two standing figures convey the idea of companionship, friendship and support, and again in Precious, there is a feeling of closeness, of being totally at ease with another person.
Carol has always made life drawings, believing this discipline important not just for its informative value but because it heightens your observation and ability to capture what is there without tricks and gimmicks. She also paints portraits in oils, worked both from the model and photographs. Interestingly, while the life drawings are not a direct preliminary to making sculpture (which is always imaginative rather than shaped from working drawings or models), they are vital to the creative process. “It’s like practising your scales if you are a musician," she says. "If I ignore drawing for a while, then my sculpture really suffers; it becomes quite laboured and I struggle to find the form. But after a series of drawings I feel really empowered – I feel I could potentially do anything.
"Although I always begin with a particular idea in mind, the concept and form for the sculpture can change dramatically during the working process. So in fact, the final piece owes more to my response to what is happening as I handle the clay than it does to any preconceived idea. Occasionally I start by making a maquette – usually when I am working on a commission – but I never work from drawings. I think this would inhibit the freedom and creativity necessary in making the sculpture.
"Instead I start straight away with clay, building an armature and quickly establishing the general pose of the figure and the basic shapes and forms. But even with the armature in place the attitude and scale of the work isn’t necessarily fixed. With a wire armature I can bend it into a different position, and if it is a steel one I might decide to remove some of the clay and grind or cut the armature to enable me to modify the pose. A standing figure can sometimes develop into a reclining one; a single figure might need a companion.
"At first I work quite frantically, running around and adding great lumps of clay to the figure, sawing parts off, and so on. But gradually the process slows down and towards the end I seem to be spending hours and hours on small areas and details. For a large sculpture the initial clay modelling stage may take more than two weeks to complete. The clay figure will then stand in my studio for about three months, and I will occasionally assess it and do some further work on it, continuing in this way until I am completely satisfied with the result. I normally have three or four sculptures in progress at the same time. The clay form is kept moist by spraying it with water periodically and wrapping it in polythene sheeting.
Limited editions
"I leave the clay to dry to a leather-hard state and then the figure is ready for the casting process. The first step is to apply a coating of liquid silicon rubber, after which I add a thixothropic agent to the rubber solution and gradually build up the surface to a thickness of about an inch all over – perhaps more for the larger sculptures. Next I assess how best to divide the three-dimensional form into removable interlocking sections, and these divisions are marked out with clay strips.
"The whole form is now covered with a fibreglass jacket. When it is fully catalized (hardened ), the fibreglass is removed and the rubber sections pulled off, during which process the clay is usually destroyed – so this is always a very tense time when you hope the moulds are perfect! Then the moulds are reassembled to give an exact negative copy of the original form. I used to do all the casting myself, but now I take the moulds to a foundry. The sculptures are either cast in bronze or iron resin, which is a fibreglass resin with iron powder added to it.
"Mould making is definitely a skill in its own right. It is a crucial part of the working process, although because it is essentially a technical process rather than a creative one, and also quite time consuming, there can be a temptation to rush it. However if, when you remove the mould, it is damaged in some way, or is not true to the original clay sculpture, there is actually nothing you can do about it – the sculpture is lost and all the work has been in vain! Fortunately this has only happened to me once, when I was at art school and tried to cast something in cement and did not know enough about the process."
Carol’s bronze sculptures are produced in limited editions, usually of nine pieces, and the iron resin figures are made in an edition of 25. As well, because she likes the idea of sculpture being accessible to a wide range of people – not just the wealthy – she makes other, more affordable pieces, in bigger editions. And she also occasionally works on a commission. "With these, it totally depends on the client," she says. "I naturally prefer a brief that allows me plenty of freedom, rather than one that is very prescriptive.
"But what I enjoy most is working in my studio at my own ideas. It is the clay that I love, together with the process of changing something so fluid and fragile into something that will last forever. I am really happy with the notion of figurative work and where this stands in the art world. Commercial success and acclaim doesn’t concern me unduly; I just want to be really good at what I do!”
Carol Peace
studied sculpture at Winchester School of Art, where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in 1992. She won First Prize, Sculpture at The Art Show, Alexandra Palace in 1994 and also that year the Livewire Award, Avon Business Start Up. Her commissions include three twice-lifesize figures for Taywood Homes and sculptures for Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, the Woodland Trust and for a new development at Portishead. Her work has been exhibited widely, including most recently at Beaux Arts, Bath; Langham Fine Art, Suffolk; Art in Action; and Moncrieff-Bray Gallery, West Sussex.
Her work is currently on view at several galleries: Fairfax Gallery, London (www.fairfaxgallery.com), where she will also be holding a solo exhibition next spring; Beaux Arts, Bath (www.beauxartsbath.co.uk); Alan Kluckow, Sunningdale (www.kluckow.com); and Broomhill, Barnstaple (www.broomhillart.co.uk).
For further details about Carol and her work, and also information about the drawing classes that she will be starting in January, view the website at www.carolpeace.com.
Robin Capon