James Lake

Sculpture

Lucca Biennale 2018

Lucca Biennale 2018

I was invited to work in Italy to participate in the outdoor exhibition of cardboard sculpture. I created a large-scale 3-metre-high sculpture.

All participants had 4 weeks to create and complete a sculpture to exhibit in one of Lucca’s piazzas.

I was really honoured to be part of a world-renowned cardboard sculpture exhibition and to work alongside international artists.

Week 1 - Construction of internal structure and scaling up proportions. Begin to construct hands and feet.

Week 2 - Construction of individual elements and fleshing out the form.

Week 3 - Bringing the elements together, refining details.

Week 4 - Finishing key details and waterproofing the sculpture.

Installation – Sculpture transferred from the workshop to Piazza San Frediano, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.

Symposium and award ceremony - Awarded ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for innovative use of the medium of cardboard and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Testimonials

Our Year 11 Art & Ceramics students were absolutely fascinated by James’ techniques and were utterly absorbed in his workshop. The day began with an introduction from James, and then a quick look at some of his incredible sculptures. The pupils started by assembling a detailed anatomical 3D cardboard skull, using templates provided by James. This tested the pupils’ ability to accurately follow instructions and problem-solving skills in equal measure. Following this each pupil developed his own, more personal response, building up the form through creating layered and textured areas of cardboard on the surface of the sculpture. Our pupil representative said “This process taught me to leave my comfort zone in my artwork; it was the radically different technique that showed me there are many ways to express yourself through art. I found James’s patient and helpful approach extremely useful as it gave me confidence to ask him questions, and accept it is OK to make mistakes! It was a brilliant day for all of us.” We are very impressed with James’ rapport with the pupils, his resources and his planning. We are thrilled with the outcomes and hope to have him back next year. James is a pleasure to work with.

Kate Weber, HOD Art, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School

BUCKFASTLEIGH 3D AMERICAN TOTEM POLES - JAMES LAKE “The project provided the children with experience of making sculpture related to our topic North America. The children were completely engaged and enthused for the entire day. All the children took exceptional pride in their work and were desperate to get it finished. James is brilliant to work with, incredibly well prepared, hard working and flexible. He is also very inspirational and the children loved him.”

Lowenna Sharpe (teacher) from Buckfastleigh Primary School

National Paralympic Day and Liberty Festival 2016 ‘Thanks so much for taking part in such a successful National Paralympic Day and Liberty Festival 2016, and all the work you put in to making it such a joyful celebration of performance and art in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.’

Rosanna – Liberty Festival

Delamere Arts Day with ‘Moorvision’ 2016 ‘I just wanted to say a huge thank you again for a wonderful day yesterday. The families had such a fantastic time, and the work produced was amazing’

Jane Ring – Arts Day Co-ordinator