Saturday 18 April 2015

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:

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for introducing us to this amazing artist and her creations. I love the style and the driftwood!

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