Wired & Fired

Biography

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, automata, and photographic greetings cards, 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 in Surrey, England. The older of three sisters. I was encouraged to ‘look around with the eyes of an artist’ from a very early age. We grew up enjoying a large garden, and woods to explore. Our parents took in injured wild birds and often homed rescue dogs. My bedroom was like a mini museum - fossils, owl pellets, skulls, old bottles and rusty bits of treasure were crammed into every available space. Our mother bought and sold antiquarian books and antiques, gardened, ran the house and acted as a taxi driver to her three girls driving us between Brownies, friends, ballet, music and tennis lessons. Our mother was good at sewing and made some of our clothes and on winter days we would arrive back from school to the smell of freshly baked wholemeal bread and homemade soup. In her little spare time she pursued her hobby as a racing cyclist. Our father would sometimes take us to follow her on her cycle races and time trials. Our mother graduated as a mature student from The University of Surrey with a B.A. Both our maternal grandparents were very musical each playing in orchestras and later for their church. As a young teenager I played the piano accordion for many years but one day I bought part of an old drum kit, that was more me and I have loved the drums ever since. Our Maternal grandfather was a good artist and as a child I loved to leaf through his collection of pencil sketches. Our father is an entrepreneur with a background in mechanics and is very practical and creative. I grew up knowing how to use tools, and developed an inventive and mechanical mind. I also had a very skilled and practical partner. I loved taking things apart to discover how they worked. Our father also 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 - known also for his work with David Roberts (The Holy Land), married into my father’s side of the family back in the 19th century. When I was about eleven years old I visited an archaeological dig in East Anglia with my family and local friends, and found the only Roman Coin discovered on that site - sadly for me though it had to be handed over to The Cambridge Museum! I have always been observant and managed to unearth a rusty iron cross from my parent’s back garden (whilst visiting as an adult) the text on it translates as ‘Myself and God’ - these were sometimes fixed to the sides of doodle bugs on the production line in Germany during the II World War. My Godmother Valerie Baxendine (also a racing cyclist) modelled as various ‘Flower Fairies’ for Cicely Mary Barker when young, this fired my imagination (It still does)-how magical - I really can say I have a ‘Fairy Godmother!’ A family friend the late Kenneth J. Wood - bird artist, painted a beautiful Peregrine falcon in flight on my bedroom wall - such an inspiration for a budding teenage artist - he encouraged my creativity and attention to detail. Kenneth was another family friend who suggested I applied to attend art school. Another artisitc influence as I was growing up was family friends Bill Gibbs and his wife Mary. Bill is an accomplished artist and photographer and always took time to encourage my creativity. In fact Bill painted wonderful clouds on my bedroom wall to accompany Ken Wood's Peregrine falcon. Mary is also very talented and creative. My mother enrolled me at The Crawley Arts Workshop aged fourteen where I enjoyed the performing arts and scene painting. The director Sue Oakes and her husband David Aspley took me under their wing especially during my teenage years. Sue also helped me build up an impressive portfolio on the merits of which I was accepted into art school. I am so grateful to these dear friends. Very sadly Sue Aspley died at an unacceptably early age. I attended Reigate School of Art and Design, (Surrey) at sixteen for four years, gaining an H.S.D. in Graphic Design and Illustration. Before leaving I was commissioned by ‘Woman’s Journal’, to illustrate ‘The Alchemist’ for Amanda Hemingway. I spent many years producing marketing/point of sales material for Oxford University Press on a freelance basis - designing brochures, posters, limited editions of 3D showcards for bookshop window displays and signing sessions, dump bins and exhibition panels. Over the years I have spent a lot of time travelling with partners on the canals of England and have also taken quite a bit of time out from my art to pursue other interests including, spirituality, organic farming, sustainable village community projects and travel. I have always enjoyed photography - focusing (excuse the pun) predominantly on the natural world - with such a wild garden as mine I’m never short of inspiration close to home. I have use of a studio in the United States and have over the years exhibited my sculptures along the Gulf Coast, in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. I am deeply inspired by the Teachings of Abraham-Hicks and excited by the results I am achieving by acknowledging and applying the Law of Attraction in my life.

I have spent time learning Silver Jewellery Design with Sarah Pulvertaft International Jewellery Designer/Maker. I designed a new copper/silver fusion range of jewellery (I have my own Hallmark - London).   I spend a lot of time illustrating and cartooning with a dip pen I find it a great way to unwind. In recent years I have been experimenting and developing my own techniques within the specialist field of Chasing & Repousse, this has been exhilarating and challenging. I love to turn the images in my mind's eye into 3Dimensional work. Last year I spent several days training alongside Italian Chasing & Repousse Master - Fabrizio Acquafresca who is based in Florence and renowned for his incredibly detailed and skilled Chasing & Repousse work in the Italian-Style. I now also use tools handcrafted by Fabrizio and I am delighted with the results of the synthesis of my inventive and contemporary approach to this field and recently acquired understanding and application of Fabrizio's traditional approach as a true master and tutor of the Italian-style.