Statement
Sandra Reeves - About the work: Sandra is a graphic designer and illustrator by training but for years has also worked three-dimensionally in copper and silver. Her three-dimensional work includes jewellery design and sculpture. She illustrates in wire/metal transposing the three-dimensional images in her mind’s eye into unique, tactile sculptures and jewellery.
Sandra finds inspiration all around her - combining a keen eye for detail and fascination for optical illusions with a wild imagination. She can do deep and serious but considers a sense of humour to be an essential tool for life. In her wire work she attempts to distil the spirit/essence of any given object and reconstruct it in its simplest form, this work has been described as Cutting Edge, Original and Quirky. A single spotlight will project countless shadows around a room adding a further dimension to each piece.
Sandra is currently working on a children's book in addition to ongoing commissions and is always happy to discuss further commissions.
Hazel Reeves SWA FRSA - About my work: I am a clay sculptor, specialising in portraits, yet with an enthusiasm for sculpting the figure. I am currently focusing on portrait sculpture commissions in bronze - my bronze portrait of Mercy Kagia won the Society of Portrait Sculptors' Masterclass prize in 2010 and my portrait of 'Adam Kirkham' won the same award in 2012; my bronze of Heather Cummings was awarded the Falle Fine Art Prize in 2010, presented by HRH Princess Michael of Kent (The Mall Galleries, London). My commissioned bronze sculpture of Sadako Sasaki was blessed at Hedd Wen on the World Day of Peace on the 21st September 2012.
Each year I exhibit with the Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries, London, and was elected a Full Member of the Society in 2009 and was invited onto the Council in 2012. I was also elected a Fellow of the RSA in 2010. And I am an exhibiting member of the Surrey Sculpture Society.
I also enjoy teaching portrait sculpture at the Sussex Sculpture Studios, and in more recent times at the Phoenix Brighton and at the Meltdowns Studios in Ramsgate. If you are interested in attending classes or want one-to-one tuition, email me on hazel@hazelreeves.com.
See my solo website: http://www.hazelreeves.com
Biography
| "Open Houses of Brighton & Hove are the jewel in the crown of the annual Brighton Festival…Highlights include Wired and Fired, a joint initiative by sister sculptors Hazel and Sandra Reeves. Sandra creates quirky, figurative wire sculptures, automata, and greetings cards, while Hazel produces clay sculptures of the portrait and figure" Art of England Magazine, May 2007 | |
Wired & Fired is the joint initiative of sister sculptors Sandra and Hazel Reeves. Sandra creates copper and silver jewellery/sculptures and quirky, figurative wire sculptures and illustrates, while Hazel produces sculptures of the portrait and figure, and drawings. Hazel undertakes portrait sculpture commissions in bronze, plaster and terracotta - and also tutors portrait and life sculpture.
Sandra Reeves - Born 1960 Croydon, Surrey, England. The eldest of three girls. I was encouraged to ‘look around with the eyes of an artist’ from an early age. We grew up enjoying a large garden, and woods. Our mother took in injured birds and homed rescued dogs. My bedroom was a mini museum - bursting to the seams with fossils, tiny skulls and archaeological treasures. Our mother dealt in antiquarian books and antiques, gardened, ran the house and acted as a taxi driver to we girls - driving us between Brownies, ballet, music, and tennis lessons. She made some of our clothes, and often on winter days we would arrive back from school to the smell of freshly baked bread and homemade soup. Our mother somehow also managed to pursue her hobby as a racing cyclist. Our father sometimes took us to follow her cycle races and time trials. She is also a graduate of The University of Surrey. Our maternal grandparents played in local orchestras and for their church. I played the piano accordion but it was the acquisition of part of an old drum kit that thrilled me. Our Maternal grandfather was a good artist and we loved browsing his collection of pencil sketches made during lunch breaks at St. James' Park whilst working as a messenger at Passport Office.
Our father trained as a mechanic and is therefore incredibly practical and creative. I grew up using tools and inherited his inventive and mechanical mind. He had the thankless task of keeping all three of his daughter’s motorbikes then cars on the road for many years. Our paternal grandparents were both skilled and creative. Louis Haghe, lithographer and printer - best known for his work with David Roberts (The Holy Land etc.), married into my father’s family back in the 19th century.
Age 11, I found the only Roman Coin discovered at an archaeological dig in Cambridgeshire, sadly it was taken immediately to The Cambridge Museum where it has stayed! I have always observed things others have missed and one day as an adult discovered a rusty iron cross in my parent’s back garden it hadbeen there undiscovered since the wat - the text on it translates as ‘Myself and God’ - these crosses were sometimes fixed to the sides of doodle bugs on the production line.
My Godmother Valerie Baxendine (also a racing cyclist) modelled as various ‘Flower Fairies’ for Cicely Mary Barker when young, this inspired me and still does - how magical - I really can say I have a ‘Fairy Godmother!’ A family friend the late Kenneth J. Wood - much published bird artist, painted a beautiful Peregrine falcon in flight on my bedroom wall - he emphasised attention to detail and ultimately suggested I applied to art school. Another early artisitc influence were family friends Bill and Mary Gibbs. Bill is an artist and photographer and always encouraged my creativity, and painted wonderful clouds on my bedroom wall to compliment Ken Wood's Peregrine falcon. Mary is also very talented seamstress.
My mother enrolled me at The Crawley Arts Workshop when I was fourteen where I enjoyed the performing arts and scene painting. The director Sue Oakes and her husband David Aspley took me under their wing. Sue helped me compile an impressive portfolio on the merits of which I attended art school. I am so grateful to these dear friends. Very sadly Sue Aspley died in her early 50s and David who had continued to support me as an unofficial patron died suddenly just over a year ago aged 59. They believed in me so deeply and I still feel their presence and influence on my work and in my life.
I attended Reigate School of Art and Design, from age sixteen to twenty, gaining an H.S.D. in Graphic Design and Illustration. I was commissioned by ‘Woman’s Journal’ magazine, to illustrate ‘The Alchemist’ for Amanda Hemingway, just before I left. I worked on a freelance basis for Oxford University Press for many years producing marketing/point of sales material and designing brochures, posters, limited editions of three-dimensional showcards for bookshop window displays and signing sessions, dump bins and exhibition panels.
Over the years I have spent time travelling the canals of England with respective partners, and pursued interests in spirituality, organic farming and sustainable village community projects. I enjoy nature photography - my wild garden is a great source of inspiration. Over the years I have exhibited along the Gulf Coast, in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
I studied Silver Jewellery Design with Sarah Pulvertaft International Jewellery Designer/Maker. I have designed ranges of jewellery including copper/silver fusion pieces (I hold a London Hallmark).I love illustrating/cartooning with a dip pen and watercolour - these existing skills enabled me quite naturally to want to experiment and develop my own techniques in Chasing & Repousse work. I love transposing the graphic images in my mind's eye into three-dimensional sculptures/plaques. I trained for a few days alongside Italian Chasing & Repousse Master - Fabrizio Acquafresca.
I live in an old house in rural Oxfordshire with my three gorgeous cats, they are a continual source of delight, entertainment, and inspiration for my sculptural work, greetings card and book illustration. I study the teachings of Abraham-Hicks and never cease to be thrilled by the results of the application of the Law of Attraction in my life.
