The Deben Radio area has many people and businesses outstanding for their enterprise and creativity. In this series of interviews entitled ‘Seems Good To Me’ John Saul talks to people who are especially good at what they do. Today John speaks to Laurence Edward, sculptor.
Creek Men
Laurence Edward's work as a sculptor uses local materials to create powerful figures. One of his works was accepted for the 2011 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and sculptures by him are regularly on show at Messum's in Cork Street in London. Clock House Arts Association has produced a splendid book, The Creek Men, with a detailed account of the creek men, which are themselves now permanently at Heveningham Hall. He has a website at www.laurenceedwardssculpture.com
Dee interviews Ian Last. Ian was born and grew up in Woodbridge. A lifelong love of drawing has led to a collection of beautiful animal drawings using pencil which has now expanded to include landscapes and aircraft studies using pencil and oils. He works full-time at Nottcutts and now has a young family but still finds time to produce wonderfully detailed drawings and paintings that contain breathtaking detail.
Barry Burns interviews Henry Piper at his exhibition in the grounds of Jenny and Mike Wake-Walker in Stratford St.Andrew.
As a son of the artist Edward Piper, and grandson of John Piper, landscape artist, Henry became interested in the construction and expression of his ideas and feelings through sculpture from an early age.
From 1988 to 1991 he studied Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences at Sussex university where these ideas developed. Having been ‘on the road’, from 1991 to 1994, in an old fire engine which he had converted into a motor home/workshop, he has settled at “The Old Laundry” in Somerset where he now lives and works.
Based partly on environmental ideals, Henry uses mainly discarded materials including copper wire stripped from electrical cable, parts of broken machinery and equipment, reclaimed building stone, empty oil cans, anything that inspires him to create. A huge variety of curios including faces, dancers, heads, strange creatures, mobiles, and abstract assemblages emerge from what would otherwise be discarded.
Although the predominant feature of his sculpture is visual, rather than conceptual and Henry would prefer his work to be taken on face value, some pieces evoke a certain depth due to the history of the materials from which they are made. Some of his work can also be seen as a representation of the dichotomy of human existence - what it’s like to be, in relation to physical being. Underlying all however, is a sense of fun.
His sculpture ranges from small to large scale, from steel and junk constructions to stone carving, from indoor to out and from gallery to commission, suiting work for people and to places.
Copyright. A BoMoJo production for Debem Radio CIC
Husband and wife team, Peter Ward and Jackie Marshall-Ward, first met through a mutual interest in history which has inspired them to pursue a wide variety of topics.
Peter is a practical historian skilled in recreating artefacts from the past in wood, leather and metal. Examples of his work are to be found in museums such as the Victoria and Albert, the British Library and H.M.S.Victory. Many of his historical shoes, sword hangers and scabbards are in use constantly by dance and reenactment societies. Everything he makes is based on sound research into methods and materials, whichmeans, for example, that leather items are all hand stitched.
His skills are in daily use in his antique repair and restoration business giving new life to cherished items from very distressed furniture to much loved gun cases and harness.
Produced by BoMoJo Productions for Deben Radio CIC
Husband and wife team, Peter Ward and Jackie Marshall-Ward, first met through a mutual interest in history which has inspired them to pursue a wide variety of topics.
Jackie shares the same enthusiasm for social history but in a very different context. Coming from a background of teaching and then running her own financial consultancy practice,she now concentrates on her principal passion, which she had pursued in parallel to her other actvities ever since leaving university. Jackie teaches, researches and performs dance from the 15th to the 19th centuries. This is where Peter's shoes come in. Dancing is not just dancing - it leads to a study of costume, political and social history and even architecture and food. Steps can be simple or extremely complicated, relaxed or aerobic, in fact something for all ages and abilities. Then there's the music; Jackie prefers always to work with musicians rather than electronics.
She created Hands on History with Marion Panzetta, to bring history into the classroom and teaches widely in every kind of educational establishment. Together they give talks on a variety of subjects and Jackie is artistic director and tutor of Colchester Historical Dance.
