Vanessa Pooley's Blog

Jun 3, Balance - bronze sculpture of a child by Vanessa Pooley

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:16:32 GMT

A large bronze sculpture of a child in its mother's arms, by Vanessa Pooley

Jun 2, Large Bronze Sculptures

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:54:26 GMT

Large bronze sculptures by Vanessa Pooley look stunning in a garden setting.

May 23, Bronze garden sculptures by Vanessa Pooley

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:15:03 GMT

Beautiful bronze garden sculptures by Vanessa Pooley can fit sympathetically into many settings.

May 23, Large Garden Sculptures by Vanessa Pooley - Larger Than Lifesize

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:10:56 GMT

Large garden sculptures by Vanessa Pooley. Creating these has been a real delight, she says.

May 23, After Botero - Large Garden Sculpture

Fri, 23 May 2008 10:09:52 GMT

After Botero is a large garden sculpture by Vanessa Pooley, inspired by the work of Ferdinand Botero.

May 1, Price List

Thu, 01 May 2008 08:05:12 GMT

Price list of Vanessa Pooley's work.

May 1, Contemporary Sculpture - New in 2008

Thu, 01 May 2008 08:03:16 GMT

New in 2008: a large version of a contemporary sculpture called Flying Lessons. That's not all. Find out more about my new work here.

Apr 30, Events and exhibitions featuring bronze sculptures by Vanessa Pooley

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:11:53 GMT

Listing of events where you can see work by bronze sculptor Vanessa Pooley

Apr 30, Small Bronze Sculptures

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:05:36 GMT

Vanessa Pooley's exquisite small bronze sculptures are the perfect size to display in the home.

Apr 30, New original bronze sculpture, by sculptor Vanessa Pooley

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:01:25 GMT

These pieces of original bronze sculpture by Vanessa Pooley are ready for casting.

Apr 30, Mother and Child Sculptures Gallery

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:58:18 GMT

Vanessa Pooley's mother and child sculptures, "a portrayal of intimacy so strong, you catch your breath..."

Apr 30, Reclining Nude Sculptures

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:34:42 GMT

These reclining nude sculptures by Vanessa Pooley exude a sense of relaxation and wellbeing.

Apr 30, Contemporary Bronze Sculptures

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:30:51 GMT

Contemporary bronze sculptures by Vanessa Pooley use traditional techniques with a sensual, quirky twist.

Nov 29, Silver-plated Tiny Mother and Child sculpture

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:59:41 GMT

This Tiny Mother and Child sculpture is the perfect gift for a special mother

Oct 15, An animal sculpture of a chubby pet guinea pig

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:28:33 GMT

Vanessa Pooley's first animal sculpture is a charming life-size guinea pig

Oct 15, Flying Lessons - bronze sculpture of a child by Vanessa Pooley

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:41:38 GMT

Delightful and happy bronze sculpture of a child 'flying'

Sep 25, Art Reviews - what the press say about bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:15:26 GMT

Art reviews - what the press say about bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley

Sep 25, 50th birthday gifts of original bronze sculpture by Vanessa Pooley

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:13:48 GMT

These contemplative pieces make perfect 50th birthday gifts

Jun 25, Annabel Agace's perfect exhibition space for bronze sculptures

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:11:57 GMT

Annabel Agace's inaugural exhibition at the Chalk Hill Gallery in Guildford, Surrey went extremely well. I went down to see the show in this newly built space and was really impressed. Annabel has managed to combine a beautiful, light, open living area with unobtrusive gallery space. All of the work shown had room to breathe and be seen, yet in a domestic setting. The balance is perfect, and all of the artists showing in this her first exhibition have sold well. This is a gem of a gallery and a place to watch!

Jun 20, Showing decorative bronze statues in Norwich

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:40:40 GMT

Nicky and Keith really went to town for the 'Sculpture Party'. Whilst I was gathering together all my bronzes and finding the best positions about their wonderful house and garden they were beavering away preparing the most delicious array of party food. This must be the easiest show I have ever set up. I took along 37 different bronze sculptures and we rapidly found space for them throughout the house and garden. Their home is Victorian Gothic and full of delightful paintings and objects, but with the smallest of rearrangements my work fitted neatly into the fireplaces, window sills, on hi-fi speakers and wooden chests. In the garden my biggest current sculpture 'Big PB' looked very good nestling in the corner of the lawn. And at the top of the garden the terrace provided perfect positions for many pieces on the old railway sleepers used to create the raised beds. We were so lucky with the weather, and didn't get a drop of rain the whole time. Thank you so much to Nicky and Keith for all their tireless and cheerful labour, and to every one who came along.

Jun 15, Vanessa Pooley 'Open Studio' in Norwich

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 08:39:37 GMT

Just finished putting out the bronze sculptures in Nicky and Keith's garden and house for my next 'do' in Norwich - tonight. This event is going to be a bit like an open studio except it's not at my house, and there will be a big party this evening. The weather forecast doesn't look too bad if I am to believe the BBC's moving image of rain and cloud over this area. In spite of masses of rain last night it looks set to be beautifully clear this evening. That'll be a relief, because several of the sculptures are set away from the house at the end of the garden. The 36 bronzes I have in the 'show' look really good. It was easy to find natural places to put them all, and they have melted away into their surroundings as if they belong there. Expecting at least 100 people to come tonight.... tho' with recent problems with my email provider it's hard to tell. Anyone who tries to email at the moment may have their email scrambled or lost...sorry about that. If you are reading this and have emailed me and not had a reply my apologies.

Jun 4, Royal Academy Summer Exhibition have turned down my sculptures!

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:16:05 GMT

I am trying to be positive about NOT getting in to the RA summer exhibition again this year... At least I shall have three more sculptures available for my Sculpture 'do' here in Norwich in mid-June. Shall I apply again next year? Don't feel like it today, but expect I will when the time comes round. But it's not just the faff of taking work down to London and collecting it, it's also the hoping...which I always promise myself I will not do. But as the time draws on I can't seem to stop myself. Come 1st of June, which is the last day when we are supposed to hear whether we have been accepted or not, I am impatient for the postman. How sad! Met a fellow sculptor at the Royal Society of British Sculptors the other day who said that one year when he enquired about the statistics, only 12 of the sculptures show that year were from non Royal Academicians. Think I shall write and ask the RA what the odds are now.

May 15, See Vanessa Pooley's sculptures in London, May/June 2007

Tue, 15 May 2007 07:46:54 GMT

This week, several of my bronze sculptures will be collected for the annual Sculpture Show, opening at Thompson's Gallery in Marylebone High Street, London W1, on the 23rd May. That is also the day of the private view, and I am planning to be there. Do come along if you can!

May 9, Sculptures at the Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair 2007

Wed, 09 May 2007 08:00:56 GMT

I shall be showing my bronzes in several different places at once this summer. Have just sent off work to Kathryn Bell for her to exhibit under her Fine Art Consultancy at Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair, which starts tomorrow. Apparently it will be the first Art Fair its kind in the region to showcase artwork from leading modern and contemporary art galleries from within the UK and abroad, and is going to be the largest commercial selling exhibition of original artwork ever held in the North of England. It's really exciting to have my work exhibited here, and it'll be very interesting to see how much interest it provokes.

May 4, Sleeping Starfish, a new small bronze sculpture

Fri, 04 May 2007 08:37:09 GMT

I began this series of tiny bronze sculptures with the aim of keeping the bronzes small enough to handle easily, perhaps even to sit and fiddle with! Sleeping Starfish is very touchable and easy to hold. It's silver-plated solid bronze, and surprisingly heavy - all the more pleasing for that. I wasn't really thinking of starfish when I made this little sculpture but wonder if I will soon begin one that's inspired more directly from those lovely natural forms. I saw some the other day when walking on the beach in North Norfolk, and they are incredibly beautiful.

May 1, My latest bronze figurative sculpture - a dancer

Tue, 01 May 2007 05:47:36 GMT

"Nutcracker Evolved" is a follow up to a 2006 piece, "Nutcracker Inspiration", which was inspired by the ballet set to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. When I find an idea for a bronze sculpture, I often work on several different versions - because there's always more than one answer to the question asked. But it wasn't until I saw the picture of these two next to each other, that I realised they curl over in opposite directions! I'm planning more upright sculptures on this theme of a dancer, and I want to maintain a bigger gap in the middle of the shape. I did try to make more space there this time, but the hole just kept filling up with form. Must be firm and stick to my guns and see what happens...

Apr 24, A new Mother and Child sculpture goes on show

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 08:23:58 GMT

I called this new Mother and Child sculpture 'Bundle', because getting into a bundle means having playful-wrestling-type-fun - the sort that children seem to do so well. The nice man at the gallery thought of it when he saw the piece, and I hope it captures some of the carefree spirit of such rough and tumble. I still wrestle with my children but the 12-year-old has suddenly started to get the better of me, so we won't be 'bundling' for much longer, sadly. I'll be showing this new bronze in the annual Sculpture Show at Thompson's Gallery, Marylebone, London in June, and they tell me this image in the catalogue looks great!

Apr 19, Iggilybuff appears in a blog!

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:01:46 GMT

I was so pleased to have my bronze sculpture Iggilybuff included in this blog, called The Overgrown Path . To be featured on a mostly-music blog was refreshing, because music is big inspiration for my work. It mostly happens when when a musician or singer really gets through to me. Recently, for instance, I've Julie Feeney, a young female singer and musician whose unique character is inspiring. I caught a snatch of 'Wind Out of My Sails' from her album '13 Songs' on Woman's Hour on Radio Four when (wonderful) Jenni Murray was interviewing her. (My children - 10 and 12 - are good at turning her lyrics into appropriate words for their beloved guinea pigs, so 'You take the wind out of my sails' becomes a song about cleaning out the piggies...'You take the ..... out of my cage...' etc.) It's an amazing song, though, and reminds me of the powerful effect an artist can have on others through their work. Easy to forget when you are making art.

Apr 16, Returning to my art studio after a break

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:52:59 GMT

A well-timed holiday holiday from the studio can give me a clearer perspective on return. Coming back, I gingerly uncover each unfinished sculpture and give it a long, hard, cold, look, trying almost to catch it out. At this stage it's important not to just-quickly-make-a-little-change-here-or- there'. I have to complete the long, hard, cold look because it is a rare opportunity to catch the sculpture off guard and see it as a separate entity. As soon as it I change it that distance is broken, intimacy resumed and the clarity is lost. So much depends on where I left off - and if I completed most of the work before the break, then I have to confront the dreaded 'starting-new-work situation' and/or, possibly even worse, the 'time-to-incorporate-new-ideas situation'.

Apr 9, New Figurative Bronze Sculptures

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:16:08 GMT

Gallery of new figurative bronze sculptures, by Vanessa Pooley

Apr 2, Sculptures in development - and holidays

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:03:46 GMT

Easter is great time of renewal and clearing and growing. When the children are off school I don't sculpt at all but take the opportunity to try to freshen up the house and have fun with the kids. This Easter holiday I'll let them have some clay to muck about with...make their own sculptures or even get them to criticise my work in progress - they are so good at saying what they think, being unbothered by expectations of what they 'should' say... Holidays are a boon and a bane for fine artists. Coming at the wrong time a break can mess up the flow of a sculpture. Worse still, the anticipation of a break or holiday can stop an artist from embarking on new work, because it's so ghastly to have to stop at the 'wrong' time. Actually it's the same every day:- 'can't start a new piece now - have only 2 hours left available and what if the first stage of a sculpture needs 5 hours...'? Leaving a sculpture at the wrong stage in its development is at best uncomfortable, at worst jeopardises the work altogether.

Mar 23, New sculptures submitted to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:20:07 GMT

I've been very aware that if I want to get one of my bronze sculptures into The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition I've got to get organised and submit some work to the Selection Committee. The RA Summer Exhibition is a rare chance to be seen be a huge number of enthusiastic people. My limited edition bronze sculpture Geodude was accepted for the Summer Show in 2002 and was very well received, selling nearly all of the edition. I made lots of new contacts through having the work on show and gained many new interesting clients too. So, I keep submitting my sculptures every year.This year I'm putting in my latest work, the tiny Sleeping Starfish, which is silver-plated bronze, and two bronzes - the most recent mother and child piece, Bundle, and Nutcracker Evolved. All the details have to be sent in by March and I have to take the actual work to the RA in Piccadilly in person at the beginning of May for selection by the panel. The chances of being accepted are small because thousands of people that apply, and it's even harder with sculpture, where showing space is very limited. Fortunately these are smallish pieces, so I can deliver them on foot - and the travail of trapsing down to London can be transformed into a day off visiting other exhibitions in the capital.

Feb 27, An inspiring sculpture collector

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:29:10 GMT

Tom is an inspiring collector, who came to an exhibition of my work in North Norfolk. We have had various meetings since and I have been able to learn about the incredible design work he has covered in his career, working on the original 'Topper bike' and also the 'marble run' that many of us were bought up to play with. Tom had bought one of my sculptures a while ago. He described it in his kitchen near the washing up area and he hoped I wouldn't mind its humble position but it was a place where he thought he would see it more often. He invited me to visit him in Cambridge and see the sculpture in situ. His house was full of objects of simplicity, fun and beauty. The sculpture - Minipuff was indeed very close to the draining board! On it, here and there, were quite a few of those little stickers that apples have stuck to them nowadays. On its flicked-up hair was a collection of elastic bands, and on the foot one 'special' elastic band. Over the pubic area had been placed a little magnet... I'm wondering about collecting images of my sculptures in situ - where the owners have decorated or altered them in some way... It's a different way of looking at work, off the pedestal and more fun.

Feb 21, An exhibition worth leaving my studio for!

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:49:26 GMT

I'm short of time, and never seem to have enough time in my studio, so I get terribly lazy about seeing exhibitions, but a wonderful inspiring man who I have got to know through his collecting of my bronze sculptures reminded me about a show that I had to see. It was in Cambridge, not far from where I live, at a unique gallery called Kettle's Yard (www.kettlesyard.co.uk). The gallery is in a house where for 16 years Jim Ede, a former curator at the Tate Gallery, London, and his wife, Helen lived. The Edes' art collection is kept there, but it's not like an ordinary gallery, because the paintings, sculpture and so on are positioned around the house, just as they were when the Edes lived there. Visiting Kettle's Yard is an unforgettable experience, the white walls and furnishings, the simplicity, the art in all its forms beautifully positioned by the owners, the freedom to sit on the sofas and leaf through the books that the Edes also collected, the peacefulness. Alongside the house is a compact modern gallery that shows regular exhibitions. At the moment they have "WE the moderns" Gaudier-Brzeska and the Birth of Modern Sculpture', a show that's really in tune with the house next door. We had great day out in Cambridge where my client lives - and seems to know everybody. Great cafes, an excitingly eclectic market, more sculpture at the Fitzwilliam Museum too, where they also serve delicious food. If you haven't been to Kettles Yard, do go, and pop along to the nearly refurbished Fitzwilliam too - just shield your eyes when you approach the front of the gallery - there is the most horrible Henry Moore in front...let me know what you think!

Jan 8, Tips on cleaning bronze sculptures properly

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:41:40 GMT

Cleaning bronze sculptures properly is essential if they are kept outside, says bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley

Jan 8, Look inside the art studio of sculptor Vanessa Pooley

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:45:27 GMT

Sculptor Vanessa Pooley's art studio is packed with her work in progress, plus the tools of her trade.

Jan 8, Bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley talks to the RBS

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:57:13 GMT

When bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley wanted to say

Jan 8, A large outdoor sculpture needs careful positioning to look its best

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:08:56 GMT

This large outdoor sculpture by Vanessa Pooley looks stunning with a river in the background.

Dec 16, Newsletter of Vanessa Pooley, Bronze Sculptures

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 14:11:52 GMT

Dec 16, Site Map for Vanessa Pooley Bronze Sculptures

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 08:53:56 GMT

Complete view of sculptor Vanessa Pooley's website

Dec 16, Why Emma Thompson bought Hug...

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 08:06:52 GMT

I was thrilled when I learned that Emma Thompson had bought a piece of my work, says sculptor Vanessa Pooley

Dec 16, Sculpture Collecting

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 07:50:56 GMT

Sculpture collecting fills clients with yearning, says sculptor Vanessa Pooley

Nov 24, Bronze gifts - original sculptures by Vanessa Pooley

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 11:20:59 GMT

Beautiful sculptures make exquisite bronze gifts for very special occasions

Nov 24, Bronze Statues - Work in Development

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 10:24:57 GMT

These are the very latest bronze statues I'm working on, and they explore the new themes that have come to me this autumn.

Nov 23, Yahoo Authentication

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 06:50:59 GMT

Nov 22, Verification

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:57:35 GMT

Nov 20, Original silver sculptures make unique and unusual gifts

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:17:00 GMT

Tiny silver-plated sculptures make unique and unusual gifts

Nov 7, How To Make A Sculpture

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:36:08 GMT

Bronze sculpture expert Vanessa Pooley explains how to make a sculpture.

Nov 7, How a bronze patina is applied

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:31:26 GMT

A well-chosen bronze patina adds depth and beauty to the surface of original sculptures by Vanessa Pooley.

Oct 27, Sculptor Vanessa Pooley describes the process of casting bronze sculpture

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:46:30 GMT

The process of casting bronze sculpture, described by sculptor Vanessa Pooley