Sea horses

Heather Jansch is the widow of folk legend Bert Jansch

the Scottish guitarist and singer who, sadly, died in 2011.

I was lucky enough to have met him a few times back in

the '60s at clubs around the circuit and my poor fingers

still recoil in agony at the very thought of their efforts to

recreate his beautiful style of playing on my battered old

12 string.  I can still hear my family screaming up the stairs

at me, "Not the bloody Needle of Death again Ju, we

can't take any more."

What's that going to be Heather?

Heather, born in Essex in 1948, leaves her mark in a totally

different way.  Life-sized sculptures of horses.

They are just utterly fabulous and I would give my eye

teeth, if the dentist hadn't got there first, to be the owner

of one of her incredible masterpieces.

Looks more like the farrier's than an artist's studio.

During her marriage to Bert, the couple lived on a remote hill

farm in Wales where, amongst other things, Heather bred

Welsh cobs.  It was at this time that she grew to know her

muse intimately not only through handling her own horses

but also by observing the Arabs and thoroughbreds that were

raised on stud farms in the neighbourhood.

You can lead a horse to water but can you make one out of driftwood?

Not content with simply drawing and painting, on the advice

of Arthus Giardelli (a contemporary artist of international

reputation), she looked deeper into what she was trying

to achieve with wonderful results.

She doesn't have an entirely one-track mind.

Following a move to Devon she began to experiment with

clay sculpture until one serendipitous day she drifted

into driftwood and the rest is history.  She had at long last

found her perfect mode of expression which she had been

seeking for so long.

Sea horses!

Click on the link below to visit her website and see more

examples of her unique talent for yourself:

www.heatherjansch.com