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Artist Statement:
The nature of Rachel's work is to design and create sculptural pieces for the garden or landscape setting, using mild steel and willow Along side her commission work, is community-based work as a visiting artist, teaching and demonstrating a variety of workshops encouraging the use of sustainable practice. A graduate of Derby University from the 3D Sustainable Design and Practice program, she mixes her love of art and design, with her passion for the garden and the environment. Inspiration for her work comes from plants within her own garden and trips to Botanical gardens and the English countryside. Nature creates beautiful fluid shapes and this finds its way into the shapes that she creates with willow and mild steel. Willow rods are entwined and woven onto a welded mild steel frame, which creates a structural skeleton for the sculpture. Using traditional methods of metal work and weaving to marry these two materials together creates endless possibilities for style, shape and use. The metal and willow will slowly change colour as it is weathered by the elements, and as the willow begins to break down it will reveal the skeletal structure within. This frame can be re-woven again to give the sculpture a new lease of life. As plants, trees and flowers have a natural life cycle that changes both seasonally and annually, so too will the sculpture. This new way of creating sculptures offers the gardener the ability to decide on how their sculpture changes, they can let nature take its course and enjoy the changes in the sculpture or prolong the lifespan by preserving with boiled linseed oil. Everyone's taste changes over time, so why shouldn't your sculpture. Rachel's studio/workshop is based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire with four other designer/makers to create the collective group 'Shed 2 Studios'. |
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Site Content © Rachel Carter.
Site Design by Applebox Designs.
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