Matt Buckley of Robert Harrop Designs produces a striking collection of emotionally evocative and fiercely modern resin figurines of animals and mythical creatures.
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Influenced by style rather than subject, Matt has given a unique feel to each piece with a dramatic mix of form, light and texture.
The collection has an eclectic range of themes but within a common look and style to make them highly collectible as centre pieces and talking points for any room.
Each sculpt was originally sculpted in clay to allow Matt the greater freedom to create the dynamic and organic feeling of each individual piece.
The finished clay masters were then moulded with each subsequent piece then carefully hand cast using ceramic polystone to allow for the faithful reproduction of the detail and texture of the original sculpt.
The finishing touch is the skilful application of hand finishing and painting that brings the figure to life and a unique art form into your home.
Read more details below.
See the Range of Edge Sculptures
How to Create a Masterpiece
Research & Design
Any design can at most only be hinted at within the confines of a sketch and instead a piece really develops when produced on the turntable.
We keep the reference material down to a minimum and instead rely far more on the mind’s eye as a source of aesthetic judgement.
Sculpting
To be able to evolve a sculpt with the energy and fluidity required means that a sturdy armature is needed. Its primary purpose is to have the strength to hold the weight of wet clay as it is violently formed into its desired shape with such purpose that leaves a deliberate rawness within the body of every piece. Of course the composition is incredibly important and the engineering paramount in order to make a figure that stands solidly and without weakness so that an appropriate thickness of clay can be maintained throughout.
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Moulding
We pride ourselves in our ability to keep the integrity of the original clay sculpture alive so nothing is more important than the first rubber mould.
To harness the sheer weight of material and avoid leakage we have to construct a very strong and perfectly sealed case to shroud the piece as closely as possible.
Cut-lines are predetermined an appropriate bleeds are added to allow any trapped air to escape and only then can we begin to pour in the pre-vacuumed liquid rubber. Once the rubber has hardened the Mould is then skilfully cut allowing the removal of the now surplus clay sculpture.
Casting
A careful mix of marble resin is then patiently poured into the prepared master mould, which is then lowered into a vacuum chamber to aid the bleeding process to remove those unwanted air bubbles that still may otherwise reside within the casing.
Once cured and properly hardened, the cast can be removed to reveal the first clean white sample.
Fettling, Sandblasting & Levelling
To prepare for painting a cleaning process begins where one of our ever diligent fettlers will eliminate any unwanted mould lines and undesirable casting residue using small speed adjustable drills, knives and sanding blocks.
Any pieces made in several parts are then assembled using steel pins, resin and glue before being levelled and then finally sand-blasted in order to give it a slight key.
Painting & Finishing
The piece then finds its way back to the Design Studio in order to complete its journey through the development phase.
The colour patterns are developed and the chosen hues applied until a Studio Master is created. This is ultimately the piece with which all subsequent production pieces are compared against, to maintain our excellent level of continuity.
With what was once an idea now becoming reality we have the finished piece, a work of pride and a tribute to the Development Team…… The Masterpiece!
Matt Buckley, Creative Director
See the Range of Edge Sculptures
