The Landscape Series.

July 10, 2017 by Rebecca Buck

This Series is a collaboration with Photographer and Documentary Cameraman Stephen Foote. Click on any picture to see it full size.

Stephen Foote and I met up after 30 years in 2014. We were good friends as teenagers, both rather disengaged with school, both making art in our own time. 30 years on we both still use art work as a major part of our interaction with this nutty world. Sharing our images was a key way we got to know each other again and harnessing that process in a joint project was simply a way of capturing what was occurring naturally. We set a straightforward ” Artists Respond to Landscape ” brief and kept a very open mind while we walked, talked, Steve took pictures and I just took it all in. We met every few months and sent each other pictures of the ensuing work in-between times.

Steve is also a Cameraman and was involved in filming for Panorama during the early, very heated phase in Kiev and the Crimea. I was coming to the end of the Up Is Down Series . Our first visit was Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea. Then we went into Porth Yr Ogof caves and had a mind-blowing day for me; we spent hours in the dark, natural cave while Steve took a fab series of photographs. I stood in the river in the darkness, held the lights and listened to the flow of water, felt the under-ground breezes. From there the project clarified for us as the travels of the water from the sky above the Brecon Beacons to the river, especially the Tawe, on down to the wide bay at Swansea, and out into the Ocean where much of it will return to the clouds and begin the circle again. As it flows it leaves it’s mark on the stone, the ground, the life it passes.

These pictures are roughly in sequence for the progression of work over time, with Steve’s photos next to the related sculptures in some cases.

Wyvern, 10cm H x 18cm L x 11cm D.

Wyvern X, 21cm L x 12cm H x 11cm D.

Water and Stone, Bracelet Bay, 2014, 24cmH x 56cm L x 33cm W, Marbled architectural ceramic. Photo by Stephen Foote

Stephen Foote; Dunes

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

Wyvern I in progress, July 2014. 68cm H x 64cm W.

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote.

It was this fabulous picture of Bracelet Bay that shifted me abruptly into figures, much to my own surprise. The character of the Wyvern developed while making the public sculpture the Balarat Pit Marker in The Edge Series: the coal, a buried treasure to be used wisely or there would be consequences, watched over by a shape-shifting Welsh dragon.

Wyvern busts in progress, Aug 2014.

Here the Wyvern is a guardian of stone.

Wyvern V, 2015, 27cm H x 51cm L x 25cm D, black ceramic. Cavin Morris Gallery, New York.

Wyvern V, 2015, 27cm H x 51cm L x 25cm D, black ceramic. Cavin Morris Gallery New York.

Porth Yr Ogof Cave, Brecon Beacons, by Steve Foote, 2014. We spent hours down here and as I assisted the photography, standing in the river and pitch black, I felt the underground wind and heard all the sounds of water travelling through the rocks. Extraordinary. A living, breathing world of unparalleled beauty.

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

The Wyvern III, 2014

Wyvern II, 2014, 69cm H x 54cm W, x 31cm D, ceramic. Photo Stephen Foote.

The Wyvern IV, Sept 2014

The Wyvern and The Leviathan. in progress, Sept 2014.

Wyvern VIII, 2015, 39cm H x 71cm L x 34cm D, ceramic. Cavin Morris Gallery New York.

Wyvern VIII, detail. Photo Stephen Foote.

Wyvern VIII, Cavin Morris Gallery New York. Photo Stephen Foote.

Water moves from one sphere to the next in all it’s forms, changing everything it passes. On heavy, stormy days here in the Brecon Beacons it careens in sheets 10cm deep across the grassy hills, colliding in the streams and rivers to tear down towards Swansea Bay. It drops through the gaps and cracks it has left in the stone to the fabulous caves it has been cutting for Millenia. Standing out in the middle of all this you can see the mountain ponies, uncompromising, resolute and beautiful. They became the Guardian of the water, the Leviathan, in it’s mountain form.

Leviathan V, 2015, 11.5cm H x 25cm L x 9.5cm W, ceramic. Photo Stephen Foote.

Leviathan VI, 2015, 12.5cm H x 21cm L x 8cm W, ceramic. Cavin Morris Gallery New York.

Leviathan V, 2015, 11.5cm H x 25cm L x 9.5cm W, ceramic. Photo Stephen Foote.

The Wyvern and the Osprey, 2014.

The Osprey followed as the guardian of the sky.

Stephen Foote Photography.

Osprey II, 65cm W x 50cm H. Photo Stephen Foote.

Osprey I, 40 cm W x 25cm H.Photo Stephen Foote.

Steve’s landscape photos unify everything exquisitely, portraying a vivid place with such clarity you can feel it around you. My sculptural response inevitably, and with some regret, separated the features which got me thinking more carefully about their connections.

The sphinx-like form and majesty of the Brecon Beacons also showed up first in the Balarat Pit Marker. A classic sculptural motif, the reclining figure, with it’s many options for themes. Like the complex internal aspect of the Beacons complete with breath, life (water) running through veins in the rock, hidden secrets, moods, supporting of forests, wildlife, and us since the dawn of time. The subtlety of age: the Beacons are especially ancient and have been many things in their past. ‘The Land’ sculptures are about this part of what we saw.

The Land II, 21cm H x 52cm L x 27cm D. Cupola Contemporary Art, Sheffield, UK.

The Land VIII, 21cm L x 12cm H x 11cm W.

The Land III, 15cm H x 43cm L x 12cm D.

The Land IV, 15cm H x 26cm L x 14cm D.

The Land I, 24cm H x 65cm L x 19cm D.

At this point the Series branches off into new territory lead by images and news about Climate Change rather than Steve’s photos and my local landscape. I have been following the fascinating progression of Climate Change for 35 years. At last it is a main-stream subject. It’s intriguing how people are still trying to avoid seeing it, the deniers but mostly the avoiders. My guilty secret is that I see it as thrilling: nature rejoicing in it’s power and spectacular magnificence, the wonder of transformation. Throwndown at Hoedown is an ongoing Series now.

This fascinating article by Randall Morris about Masks describes the process that I am trying to work through here. I have learnt a great deal from Randall since joining Cavin Morris Gallery. His amazing collection and beautiful writing brings clarity to, and pin points the essence of, what is important in art. I am an animist by nature and it is my job to portray what I see but the distractions can be over-whelming.

FACESHIFTING II: Animistic Masks From the Himalayas

Published on May 6, 2016

Short essay by Randall Morris

–The Up is Down Series proceeded The Landscape Series and was a transitionary point in how I put together forms, particularly in relation to their bases. The research involved clarified my thinking and ability to see.

Most of the sculptures in The Landscape Series are built with the technique explained in Heads and clay armatures.

Studio Diary: The Marking Time Sculpture at Bronllys Hospital, Powys.part 4.

March 23, 2016 by Rebecca Buck

Working on a large scale means returning to the same form everyday for months. So you need to be sure about the design.

I’m really pleased with the scale of the Marking Time Sculpture. It is within the human scale range so that the embrace and eye level of the dragon and the kite/guardian’s wings will feel very personal.

Marking Time scale model.

Osprey Studios has a flexible layout and a solid floor so that anything up to 6m x 3m can be built there which keeps costs down.

The base foot print was painted on the floor in red and the outline of widest/deepest edges painted in blue to check that there will be space to work around the forms. The largest section is set on blocks to give the height of the eye-line. The other 2 sections are on wheels for easier access. The base footprint is painted on the boards in blue.

I always miss my wonderful Volunteers from past projects at this point. But it is a lot easier to be building in my own studio. Advancing decrepitude means some of my systems for moving heavy loads around lack dignity. And I can loose myself in the curves.

Areas are kept wrapped in plastic to keep the drying even. When you add new clay you need to allow time for the water to re-balance itself down the form. A large piece will be holding gallons of water.

I am building the armature of the piece. The final surface will be added to it so I need to keep the clay at the best stage of hardness. Scarva ES50 Crank holds its water really well while still being very strong at the leather-hard stage.

I will be adding a lot of deep texture and modelling so these armature walls are very thin. In places the lines and curves of the final form are showing.

There is an internal support structure made of clay that will stay in place during the firing. It will help to support the sections when the sculpture is cut up so you need to plan them well in advance. Other materials like foam and wood are used inside just long enough for the clay to stiffen. External supports can be anything. They will need constant adjusting to accommodate shrinkage. I have a treasured collection of heavy-duty props and oddly shaped bits of wood and memory foam.

The lines of the supports can be distracting.

2/3 of the way up. But the forms are not complete, especially width-wise. You see the movement starting in the curves of the central space. I’m using the sound-track from The Legend of Korra to keep the theme consistent across the weeks of work.

Enflamed at Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York.

June 29, 2015 by Rebecca Buck

Being invited to join this beautiful, sensuous, soul-reaching collection made my day. Some of my favourite Ceramists like Melanie Ferguson and Monique Rutherford show with Cavin-Morris Gallery. Their introduction to their site made my week;

“Cavin-Morris Gallery has been exhibiting world artists for 30 years. We specialise in the work of self-taught artists whose work is made independently of the art world canon yet participates equally on the wall or pedestal. We represent the new generation of self-taught artists whose work remains authentic and visionary while representative of contemporary times. We also feature important works from preceding generations of self-taught artists including Jon Serl, Bill Traylor and Emery Blagdon.

We show an eclectic selection of tribal art from all the major regions of the world focusing on the unusual and the formally surprising.

Another focus is on textiles of the world, including South East Asian costumes an textiles including tribal China, and Japanese Boros: futon covers made over a period of a hundred years from cotton patches and threads.

Our newest department is a developing interest in Contemporary ceramics both functional and non-functional. We are especially interested in the way ceramists push the envelope of traditional form sand cultures. We show Western ceramists as well as Japanese, Chinese and Korean work.

The common thread that connects all this art is its uniqueness, its integrity and authenticity, and its reflection of cultural home-ground. The Contemporary artists we represent extend the continuum established by the self-taught and Tribal artists into a new and exciting multi-tiered arena.”

This article explains it perfectly; ‘A Chelsea Double Feature; Paper Meets Clay On “Homeground’s” Turf’ by Edward M Gomez.

View the stunning Catalogue here.

Melanie Ferguson extraordinary pots encompass the universe and lead you beyond your borders.

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Mitch Iburg‘s stunning pots leave me breathless with wonder.

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Mitch Iburg. All the mountains of the world are honoured here.

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Mitch Iburg.

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Mitch Iburg.

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Cavin-Morris Gallery.

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Sarah Purvey ‘s pot in the for-ground of the beautiful display at Cavin-Morris Gallery.

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Simcha Evan-Chen.

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Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York City, USA.

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Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York City, USA.

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Wyvern V, black ceramic, 26.7 x 50.8 x 25.4 cm. Rebecca Buck.

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Wyvern VIII, ceramic, 39 x 71 x 34 cm. Rebecca Buck.

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Up Is Down VI, ceramic, 20 x 49 x 31 cm.

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Leviathan VI, ceramic, 12.5 x 21 x 8 cm.

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This is a selection of images taken by Cavin-Morris Gallery. Go to the Gallery site to see more beautifully presented photographs of these Artist’s pieces and the other astonishing work by the Artists represented by this exceptional Gallery. The links from each name here on this post will take you to more information about each Ceramist. I will add more images as I get them.

Sculpture by Rebecca Buck at Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York City, USA.

Studio Diary; The Landscape Project, part 6, Review so far…

February 17, 2015 by Rebecca Buck

It’s the end of the 1st year and time to take stock. You can see the earlier parts of the story via the Contents page. Click on any picture to see it full size.

Stephen Foote and I met up after 30 years. We were good friends as teenagers, both rather disengaged with school, both making art in our own time. 30 years on we both still use art work as a major part of our interaction with this nutty world. Sharing our images was a key way we got to know each other again and harnessing that process in a joint project was simply a way of capturing a what was occurring naturally. We set a straightforward ” Artist Responds to Landscape ” brief and kept a very open mind while we walked, talked, Steve took pictures and I just took it all in. We met every few months and sent each other pictures of the ensuing work in-between times.

Steve is also a Cameraman and was involved in filming for Panorama during the early, very heated phase in Kiev and the Crimea. I was coming to the end of the Up Is Down Series . Our first visit was Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea. Then we went into Porth Yr Ogof caves and had a mind-blowing day for me; we spent hours in the dark, natural cave while Steve took a fab series of photographs. I stood in the river in the darkness, held the lights and listened to the flow of water, felt the under-ground breezes. From there the project clarified for us as the travels of the water from the sky above the Brecon Beacons to the river, especially the Tawe, down to the wide bay at Swansea, and out into the Ocean where much of it will return to the clouds and begin the circle again.

These pictures are roughly in sequence for the progression of work over the last year with Steve’s Photos next to the related Sculptures.

Bracelet Bay , Stephen Foote.

Up Is Down- in progress

Up is Down IX, 57cm W,

Stephen Foote; Dunes

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

in progress, July 2014

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

in progress August 2014

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote.

It was this fabulous picture that shifted me abruptly into figures, much to my own surprise.

Busts in progress, Aug 2014.

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea by Steve Foote

A narrative developed that was also influenced by the awesome storms of the previous winter. A trio of figures, the Guardians of the Aquasphere, the Lithosphere and the Atmosphere, arose and they and their Harbingers took on characteristics that the many life-forms of the Biosphere could relate to so that all would understand what was happening; The Triumvirate were going to let loose their forces. This was not to threaten or punish. They simply knew it was time.

Brecon Beacons, by Steve Foote.

The Atmosphere in the form of an Osprey.

Porth Yr Ogof Cave, Brecon Beacons, by Stephen Foote.2014

Guardian of the Atmosphere, The Osprey

The Wyvern and the Osprey, 2014.

The Wyvern, Guardian of the Lithosphere.

Frame-works for The Wyvern IV and, in the back ground, The Leviathan.

The Lithosphere has The Wyvern, a dragon that has taken a number of forms so far.

The Leviathan in progress, Sept 2014.

The Wyvern and The Leviathan. in progress, Sept 2014.

The Wyvern.

Bracelet Bay, Stephen Foote.

The Wyvern.

Bracelet Bay, Stephen Foote.

The Wyvern.

Osprey.

Wyvern

Leviathon

Osprey.

Leviathon

Wyvern.

Wyvern

The Guardian of the Aquasphere took on the form of the Mountain Ponies that run free in the Beacons.

It has been a fantastic year in the Studio; I am harnessing the narrative and collective sides of the monumental Community Sculptures of the last 13 years. But I’m free to use any scale. The architectural clays I use have given me the freedom to go anywhere in space. My amazing collection of Sculptor and Ceramist friends, from all over the world, on Facebook have encouraged and inspired me enormously. I’m settled into my lovely big Studio ( and gotten over the shock of having it at last!). Stephen and I communicate very well and we egg each other on.

Many thanks to everyone who has visited the work over this last 6 weeks and given invaluable advice and feed-back.I will continue with this series of sculptures until it is done.

We will start a new project focussing specifically on the passage of water from the mountains to the ocean along the Tawe Valley. We are partnering with some Public art venues and setting up some Community participation to widen our perspective. We will visit a small Coal-mine and the Open-cast mine. Only a few years ago, on the 15th of September 2011, 4 men were killed in a dreadful accident at Gleision Colliery when their mine was inundated with water. Making the Pit Markers in Blaengarw, I heard about these type of accidents but, like everyone else, I never thought such a thing could happen here, in this century. From just below the Studio down-wards the River has an extra-ordinary history in the Industrial Revolution.

Neither of us have any idea where this will lead. We feel confident that we have something with substance and a great deal of potential and we have found a work-method that is productive and sustainable. I know from past projects that the community will come up with all sorts of treasures that will lead us into work that is far richer and more interesting than we would make alone. We will trade Workshops in photography and ceramics for input from community groups and individuals. It will be a fun process. We need images, stories, myths, legends, history-including the ancient history and favourite, special spots on the river or tributaries.

Studio Diary, Landscape Project, pt 5.

September 25, 2014 by Rebecca Buck

The Leviathan in progress, Sept 2014

Frame-works for The Wyvern IV and, in the back ground, The Leviathan.

The second framework has become the Leviathan, the guardian of the Aquasphere as The Wyvern is the guardian of the Lithosphere. I will make more versions. These will have a pale gold colour. Next I will make a larger Osprey, guardian of thew Atmosphere, in the same clay(Scarva ES50 Crank) and then move to the black clays and re-do the set.

The Leviathan in progress, Sept 2014.

The Wyvern and The Leviathan. in progress, Sept 2014.

Studio Diary, Landscape Project pt 4.

September 16, 2014 by Rebecca Buck

The Wyvern IV, Sept 2014

The frame-work for this one was much more developed and lead the form. I made a second one so I could keep the flow going around the drying periods but I didn’t need to break from Wyvern IV; it was strong enough.

Frame-work for The Wyvern IV.

This is asking a lot of a clay. But this is Scarva ES50 again and reckon I’ll get away with it.

Studio Diary. Landscape Project, pt3

September 11, 2014 by Rebecca Buck

The Wyvern and the Osprey, 2014.

The story is coming together. My policy of don’t ask too many questions, let the work flow, put in the hours,review completed forms, is working well.

Porth Yr Ogof Cave, Brecon Beacons, by Steve Foote.This image and the memory of being down there is still key.

Balarat Pit Marker, 6m L x 2m H, Blaengarw, Wales.

The idea of the Wyvern, guardian within the land ,started with the Balarat Pit Marker although I didn’t know the name. The Wyvern is a force and can take many forms. The Harbingers I’ve made are similar figures.

River Harbinger,2012

The Wyvern III, 2014

These busts are developing slowly as my portrait skills heat up and I can work more freely.

Studio Diary, The Landscape Project, part 1

August 24, 2014 by Rebecca Buck

Busts in progress, Aug 2014.

Lots of changes, lots of layers.This is the main photo I am focussing on; The sky, the land and the ocean and man’s presence – everything is integrated.

Bracelet Bay, Mumbles, Swansea, by Stephen Foote, 2014.

These 2 pictures and the experience of being in both these places is never far from my mind these days.

Porth Yr Ogof Cave, Brecon Beacons, by Stephen Foote.2014

A narrative is emerging that involves the passage of water from the Beacons’ sky to the ocean at the bottom of the Swansea Valley. The Tawe River passes the Studio and the ground beneath us is full of tunnels from the rivers and from mining. The Wyvern, a dragon with a wonderful mythology about guarding the treasures of the subterranean world entered the picture when I was heavily involved with the history of local Coal Mining and the Pit Marker Sculptures and it is re-emerging here. The next clay-armature is more specific now that I have a clearer idea of where I’m going.

3rd Bust armature in progress, Aug 2014.

in progress, Aug 2014.

Rebecca Buck

Osprey Studios, contemporary sculpture. Phone: 07913743457

Tag Archives: The Wyvern

The Landscape Series.

Studio Diary: The Marking Time Sculpture at Bronllys Hospital, Powys.part 4.

Enflamed at Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York.

Studio Diary; The Landscape Project, part 6, Review so far…

Studio Diary, Landscape Project, pt 5.

Studio Diary, Landscape Project pt 4.

Studio Diary. Landscape Project, pt3

Studio Diary, The Landscape Project, part 1

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