Sally Wakelin – Studies in Creativity

I have been making these things for a few years now, inspired a great deal by the exhibition on Anthony Calder at the Tate Modern two years ago and a similar exhibition in Tours, France several years before that.

But way before all of that I was inspired by my mother Rosemary who made wonderful paintings and sculptures from quite a number of different materials.

I now have her collection of Perspex® off-cuts (acrylic sheet in numerous colours), including some wonderful colours some of which are no longer available. There is a particular fluorescent orangey pink colour that I would love to be able to buy. Its possible that it was from an American source, made by a different manufacturer.

Here’s her piece made with that fluorescent pink/orange and solid sky blue Perspex® which hangs in my window and throws amazing colours and reflections around the room as the piece rotates in the heat of the sun. This photo was taken after dark, I will endeavour to replace it with a better one soon.

Lovely pink reflections from the sculpture above on the grey floor.

During a week’s long drawing course at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park a number of years ago, I began to make folded paper structures, I’m not sure really why I began to make them but they look so good rotating in the breeze. I made this one after the course and it still hangs in my house.

On a different track altogether I began making mobiles from card, cutting out the pieces by hand and then sticking two together with the thread sandwiched between. The designs for both of these were a kind of homage to my parents work, they are developed from a series of drawing and paintings. The first one from my mother’s work and the second from a series by my father.

My mothers painting And my father’s drawing

I find it intensely engaging thinking about how pieces can move in ambient air conditions and begin to move really quite fast in a breeze or when the sun shines directly on it.

I have used a number of different materials, some found objects, some bought, some hand-made and some laser cut. All these processes have been informed by my training as a jeweller and ability to think in three dimensions. I almost never being from a drawing, I simply start making. Of course one usually has to make a decent drawing at some point but its more of a diagram or specialist kind of drawing for laser-cutting.