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Commissions

I'm interested in coming up with ideas for innovative art projects and then designing and making them - and that includes finding specialists and working with them to make elements that require skills or equipment I don't possess myself. 

I also enjoy (and think I am good at) coming up with innovative solutions to problems on art projects, whether they relate to the concept or the making process.

If you have requirements that fall into one of these categories and think I might be able to help you, please get in touch.

Examples of previous commissions are shown below.

Carnival Roller Coaster, 2023
I brought together 3 community organisations - Looe Pioneers running club, Looe Sea Swimmers and Looe Shedders  - to create a large roller coaster for the town carnival.  I designed the chairs, sourced materials (cardboard, pipe insulation, rope, paint)  and ran workshops (with the help of Looe Shedders) for 33 people to each make their own chair.   We won first prize for our noisy, dynamic performance.


  2023 Carnival Roller Coaster



  Dragon at Looe Carnival  Title: Carnival Dragon

Year: 2019

Materials: Mainly cardboard

Size: 1.77m high and about 50m long

I invented this design, based on a dragon's head on wheels leading a long line of people wearing boxes and beating a rhythm on the box in front of them using improvised drum sticks. 

Every so often everybody turned to display the front and back of their boxes, revealing the logo of my running club, Looe Pioneers.

I got 35 club members to make and paint their own boxes.

I designed and made:
  •  The dragon's head.  The top part is hinged to enable the mouth to open showing a lot of villainous teeth
  • The stencils to recreate a letter of the club logo on the front and back of each box
  • The drumsticks - ping-pong balls filled with plaster and threaded onto bamboo canes

Click here for more information
 

  Tate Exchange Title: The Wall

Year: 2018

Materials: cardboard, paper

Size: 2.5m long, 1.8m high, 255mm deep

I won a commission to design and make this interactive art project for Tate Exchange, a collaboration of Plymouth College of Art and the Tate Gallery.

 A cycle of participants build a wall from 70 cubes to expose one of four composite images of Tate Modern, past and present. They then tear the wall down to create their own art work.

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  Reindeer Title: Reindeer

Year: 2017

Materials: Plywood, wood, steel

Size: About 2m high, 3m long and 1.2m wide

I designed and made these reindeer, mounted on a trolley, for Looe Pioneers, a running club in my home town, for a Christmas parade.  The plywood was cut using Plymouth College of Art's CNC router.

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  Fish in Fire Title: Fish in the Fire

Year:2016

Materials: Recycled aluminium drink cans, pop riveted steel sheet and mesh

Size: About 400mm x 250mm x 75mm

This was for a member of my family, who had an electric fire that reminded me of a fish tank.

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 fish from cds
Title: Rainbow Fish

Year: 2014

 Materials: Recycled CDs, fishing line, wood

Size: 3m x 1.8m

I designed this and then helped pupils build it for an "arts week" at Marine Academy Plymouth    Primary School.

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  Smitten Title: Smitten

Year: 2013

Materials: paint

Size: About 2m long, 1.5m high and 0.5m wide

I won a competition to decorate one of a set of  giant sunfish forming a tourist trail in Plymouth.  My design, a visual pun, was picked by Plymouth City Council and stood outside the Civic Centre.

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  Devonport Column Gate Title: Devonport Column Gate

Year: 2013

Materials: stainless steel, bronze, glass

Size: 2.5m high by 1.8m wide

 I won a competition with my design concept for these gates, which provide access to a Grade 1 listed monument in Plymouth.  I worked with the architect and metal fabricator to develop the detailed design and win the approval of conservation authorities.  I made the glass elements - the dolphins in the centrepiece (pictured).

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