Eliza Bowditch

Lioness
Buff Clay
33 x33cm
2020
NFS

Framlingham College

I am passionate about animals which is the true source to my sculpture. I have always grown up surrounded with animals with myself and my family having a mutual love for them. I was lucky enough to visit Botswana in summer 2019 where I was able to embrace the majestic wild animals in their natural habitat. A truly life changing experience which gave me inspiration to capture the animals beautiful character and emotion.

When I was travelling through the bush of Botswana and came across a pride of lions, the rush of excitement, exhilaration and trepidation consumed me completely. This was an unfamiliar feeling because nothing can compare to seeing something so astonishing. I wanted to create a sculpture that could evoke similar emotions for the viewer to those that I experienced when I saw the pride. The Lioness held my gaze with her piercing eyes knowing that I was a potential threat to her cubs. Although this induced fear, I had huge respect for her as she was the matriarch. This led me to create ‘Lioness’ because I became transfixed by her.

I have worked with lots of mediums, but I favour clay for several reasons. Firstly, it is easily manipulated and more forgiving for change. Second, I am able to work on a larger scale with clay sculpture, even though firing can be temperamental. Third, it can be easily adapted to create different surfaces and textures through a range of modelling and mark making tools. Considering these points, I also love working with clay - especially for creating ‘Lioness’- because it holds the effort and process of the creation so beautifully. Which not only allows me to create the character of the incredible lioness, but also allows me to show my personality as well.

I studied multiple artists who produce exquisite animal forms in sculpture, such as Nick Mackman, James Maberly and Patric Villas. Nick Mackman focuses on the whole form of animals, portraying their movements and body language to tell the story that she witnessed in the wild. I love this aspect of her work and it is what drove me to use my own experiences and encounters in Botswana in my sculpture. James Maberly produces similar work of animal forms and when I visited his studio in the making of ‘Lioness’, he taught me skills on how to prepare for the modelling and how to develop her. Patric Villas was an artist that I focused on when looking at animal busts. He has produced multiple lion/lioness busts himself and I studied his work to guide me through the creation of my lioness bust.

Exhibitions:

Anna Airy Art Exhibition – Ipswich Art Society (2018 & 2019). An annual exhibition for young people aged 16 – 20 years. Held at the Waterfront building at the University of Suffolk, Ipswich during November. 

Work Experience:

Volunteer at Art for Cure.  Art for Cure is a registered national charity. The money raised is channelled into national research projects and to valuable breast cancer services in Suffolk that work alongside the NHS breast care teams. -

Achievements:

Art Scholar (2018 – 2020) – Framlingham College