Biography
Sophie makes evocative sculpture in her central Bristol studio. She collaborates with others - mould makers, casters and other artists to realise her designs and commissions. She produces ceramic, bronze resin and bronze sculpture.
Her design experience includes making architectural details and props for TV, and for companies in the garden ornament industry, for whom she has made Buddhas, birdbaths, owls and obelisks amongst other things.
Seeking to find her own voice she makes collections of pieces exploring themes including motion and stillness, the body, dance, city life and animals. Sophie has completed commissions for private and corporate clients and her sculpture is available through galleries around the UK, listed on the 'Exhibiting' page.
Sophie has taught art for thirty years. She delivers some short courses at The Royal West of England Academy. Her experience includes sculpture projects in schools, for galleries and the Probation Service. She was also a creative industry business adviser for four years in Bristol.
Born in West Dorset in the late 1950s, Sophie grew up in Yorkshire and trained at Winchester Art School before moving to London and later returning to the West Country in 1987. She lives in Bristol and is a director of HOURS, a gallery and event space in the city.
Teaching
Here is a short film about Sophie and her sculpture by Enzo Xenakis Serra
Sophie has taught sculpture for 30 years to adults and children. Currently she offers a short courses at The Royal West of England Academy.
She has run workshops in schools. With Brave Bold Drama worked on a clay project at St Peter’s School, made ‘Avona’ the spirit of the River Avon who graced The Festival of Nature and Bristol Harbour Festival, and designed blue butterflies which were decorated by people of all ages in Withywood, Bristol.
Beach Sculpture Days
Its been a while, but sometimes in the autumn Sophie leads a day of sculpture on the beach at Sand Bay near Weston-Super-Mare. Anyone can come, bring a picnic and spend the day making sculpture with what is on the beach.
Commissions
As well as more than thirty individual sculptural portraits, Sophie's commissions include Lions for the city of Bath, glow in the dark willow poetry for festivals, one off unique items such as a rubber Beethoven, architectural decoration and hundreds of garden ornaments.
In 2021 the first of four panels designed by Sophie have been installed at a housing development in Bristol. These cast resin relief panels show scenes from Bristol harbour, and the tugs, dredgers and barges that worked the waterways. The site of the new housing development, which is called Boatyard Place, is on the banks of the Avon where there once was a boat yard belonging to the company TR Brown. They were one of the companies working for many years in and around Bristol and Avonmouth docks.
Process
Whilst plans happen anywhere, usually a sculpture is made in the studio. Sculptures are conceived and evolve from many sources including clients ideas.
For Sophie's purely personal practice, most often these days, clay is included somewhere in the process. Standing back to look, leaving things to settle, experimentation, building and destruction are all parts of the making.