How long have you been interested in sculpture?

Caro: I guess my interest in sculpture developed through other art modes really, it was something I progressed to having spent a number of years in drawing and print making. And I eventually went to a sculpture class as an enjoyable interest really I think. And I put my hands in the clay and that was it really, the lights came on and that's what I've been doing ever since.

So how did you progress from drawing and print making to sculpture?

Caro: I was finding some limitations with drawing particularly and I think the main thing for me was when I was drawing I started using soft pastel and materials where I could actually have my hands in contact with the paper because it was a much more tactile creation. And what I realised is that the forms I was drawing, the things I was communicating through my drawing were actually feeding my imagination. And once I put my hands in a piece of clay and discovered sculpture, I wanted to progress with the clay as the material that I worked with. And of course being 3 dimensional in nature that changed the concept of the work, but I was also able to bring my knowledge from observation from drawing which is still a very important part of my work into that. I think printmaking is something that quite a lot of sculptors explore and again its very important, almost like a backbone, against which sculpture can often be built, because the recording aspect of either your thoughts, what's out there in the physical world whether you're using a life model or drawing from something you are seeing outside is a really important part of accurately communicating what you're trying to say in your work. Your conscious mind, your brain will actually make up what it thinks its seeing rather than accurately draw what is really there and I think a good discipline in drawing helps you record accurately what is really there rather than what you think is there. That's why it is so important in sculpture.

What influences your work?

Caro: What I love and what I feel a connection with. For me the human form I believe expresses everything that there is about us and within us. There is so much to discover and explore I can't imagine ever getting tired of that. Really it is to do with our connection with our surroundings and nature and how we can influence that. And really what fantastic potential we all have as human beings. And our relationships, in some way that all gets wound up in my work, obviously from my personal experience and my perspective as well comes into that.

And how do you approach your subject?

Caro: Well, different ways at different times. Sometimes I get an idea of something, almost a seed idea pops in, something I want to work with, but its not fully formed because of course the artwork develops as you start to explore it and that's what makes it unique. But sometimes I can just be using a piece of clay, changing it around, and I see something in it that gives me an idea as a start point.

If that's the start point how do you know when its finished?

Caro: That's always very difficult because I think there's always a tendency to either carry on exploring if you're having a really good time with a piece or I think, being quite perfectionist by nature, I'm always wanting to put that little bit of something in that will make the difference and I think you have to be really disciplined to know when the right time is to stop before a piece is overdone. But often I'll just get a sense of 'that's it, that's enough' or I come to the end of that piece as an idea and I've got something else queuing up waiting and really its just something that I either decide or I have a knowing of at the time.

Why is sculpture important?

Caro: I think it is very important as an art form for audiences because it is something so physical and we are able to use our sense of touch with it as well. And often with larger pieces as well, because you have a different scale, you can have almost a different sense, a different relationship with, particularly out in the landscape where almost the dimensions change the nature of the piece and connect it to its environment and I think that sculpture, being something that we can explore through all our senses of touch and sight and even smell... you know it is extraordinary what a piece can stimulate and open up as an experience for a viewer... is really important and I think it helps connect us to ourselves and to our environment.

What about limitations in producing a piece?

Caro: Well, it would depend very much on what it is. If it's a small piece then there's obviously a lot less in terms of issues with constructing it. Much larger pieces take a lot of thought and a lot of planning and in a way they can't be quite as free sometimes simply because you have to engage your left brain to work out constructional details. But like anything once you have a knowledge of how that works and you get the underpinning things right then you still have the freedom of expression later on and the advantage in a large piece is once you have got past that stage you can sometimes experience shapes and forms within a piece in a very different way than you could ever envisage in a much smaller piece. There are also considerations if it's a very large piece as well, how its going to be viewed. If its very tall and the viewer is going to be looking from underneath then often dimensional changes need to be made at the very top of the piece, maybe you have to make the head larger in size so that it is viewed as looking in proportion from the ground. But we are talking about very large pieces now.

So what do you think makes a piece endure maybe over very long periods of time, generations, or even hundreds of years?

Caro: Well, my own perspective on that is that it has to have a quality, something that as human beings we value and honour otherwise its just like a passing fad, something that comes and goes, we'll try it on for the moment and then when we get bored with it its gone. So, qualities that give a piece a presence that's easy to live with as well, and personally I like to do quiet and subtle pieces because I don't think they have to be busy and noisy to be good. In fact I think that (busy and noisy) can be quite tiring to look at after a while. Something that quietly encourages the viewer to spend time with it and open up to it and keep on discovering things over time is I think what makes a piece enduring. And after all, you know, you want something that's going to be enjoyable and pleasurable to live with over time.

How do you make a bronze sculpture?

Caro: Well, generally the work will start with either a series of working drawings or three dimensional clay sketches. If it's a small piece I might go straight into the clay, or if it's a larger piece I'll build an armature of a material such as welded steel, or polystyrene with wire netting on to which I can then attach clay for modelling. Generally I model my work in clay because I like the material. It's just something I have a particular empathy with and it does all the things I want it to do. Its malleable and moveable and you can experiment with it. You can take bits off and put bits on and it's very instant and I like the slow growth process over time with clay. Once the clay has been modelled, a silicone mould is then made with a hard case and I tend to take a fibreglass and cement artist's proof as a cast. And this will go to the foundry with the mould before they make the bronze. I also patinate the artist's proof to play around with different colour patinations and things because that does have an influence on the piece in the end. So that helps my decision making as to how I want to present it. After the foundry get a mould, they then cast a bronze from that and all the work's then done in the foundry and that will involve taking a wax from the mould which is then covered in a sort of ceramic shell and ultimately the wax is heated and poured out and the shell is filled with bronze and then patinated and mounted.

How important is the studio environment?

Caro: Oh, it's really important.

Why?

Caro: Well apart from having the right sort of facilities, physical facilities in terms of really good access for getting large works in and out, getting deliveries in, the right sort of light as well, generally it's a case of creating the right environment. When I go to work I'm very fortunate in that I have a 5 mile drive out through the countryside and its almost like a meditation so by the time I get there, my daily thoughts have kind of wound down and I'm starting to think about my work and I've got a nice long drive up to the studio and its in a very peaceful and quiet environment. And for me working in quiet is really important. And it helps still all the rattle that goes on in one's head and then I can open out my creativity. And it's constructed as a really creative and nurturing environment in that respect and works really well for me.

What's the role of drawing?

Caro: Drawing is about recording, recording what's really there through acute observation and I like to use charcoal when I'm drawing, something I can get my fingers in contact with and move around. And something that I can work with quite quickly so I'm not letting my thoughts get in the way of how I think something should be. And that's very important in terms of increasing my knowledge of shapes and forms, that then can be almost stored away in a library, you know, as you discover something and that comes out later on in sculpture.

Drawing from life or drawing from imagination?

Caro: Both are important. I think drawing from life is a critical skill that I hope is going to continue to be recognised and brought back more into the art field. I think its been neglected in the past. Because of the observational qualities, we are so used to what we think our bodies look like that actually that, until we are taught to record what is actually there I think that drawing on the whole can be very inaccurate. So its all about that and I think that drawing from imagination is also critical because sometimes you can draw something and think "oh, I wonder where that came from", and it sparks off an interesting journey.

What about the medium for drawing?

Caro: Well, as I said before, charcoal I find really good but anything that is instant and expressive. I've used all sorts of things. I started with pastel but I've drawn in oils, pencil I find a little restrictive because I like to draw very big, so I'm drawing from the shoulder rather than from the wrist. It needs to be something that will go on quite boldly but also something that will allow me to be really disciplined, not fudge it and rub it out afterwards, you know. If I'm trying to record accurately then I'm going to use something that's not going to give me much leeway for mistake and that's a really good discipline for me.

What about the role of colour?

Caro: I believe colour is important in enhancing and getting the most out of a finished piece but I think that in terms of sculpture the work needs to be carried by the forms. If the underlying forms aren't pleasing then it doesn't matter how you colour a work, it's never going to compensate for that. But I do believe that colour can make or break a piece, so you can have the most wonderful sculpture with beautiful forms that is patinated in the wrong way and it'll just kill it really. Equally, it can be enlivened by the careful use of colour.

Why clay?

Caro: Its just something I have a very strong connection with and I think in sculpture on the whole you are either a 'build up-er' or a 'take away-er'. To take away is something like carving where you are constantly working to remove things. I like clay because it's very moveable and I can change my mind from one moment to the next, I'm not restricted in my thought and I like the feel of it, I like it as a material.

What haven't you told us about your work?

Caro: I suppose that sculpture is a constantly evolving field really and I can only comment from where I am now and what I see. I can't tell how my work is going to be in 10 years time.

How do you run your studio?

Caro: I have a daily discipline that I get out I go to the studio and I treat it like a disciplined working day really and get the most out of it that way. It can be quite difficult sometimes going into creative space if you are at a certain stage in a piece or a bit stuck on something, and look for other things to divert you, like there must be some admin to be done at home or something. But actually unless I'm creating most of the time I start to feel a bit stuck and glued up and that's a very uncomfortable feeling. As long as I'm constantly creating and exploring something then work is good.

Why do you have Open Days?

Caro: I think that in the main my studio is a very private workspace and it needs to be that way. It's not like a shop front where I've got people wandering in and out. At the same time I think its really important to let people know that I'm there, but also its really important I believe for sculpture, for people to be able to understand what actually goes on in making a piece. It's a very hidden way of working, really people will often only get to see a piece of sculpture when it gets to a gallery or out in the landscape. For them to understand what actually goes into making a piece can be very enjoyable for people and I think also it enables you as a sculptor to earn a certain amount of respect from people for the art because they have an understanding of what goes into it.

So how do you avoid your sculpture becoming intellectual?

Caro: Well, I guess that's a matter of opinion really. But I think that if you do something from the heart rather than from the head then I think it's a hard argument to press that it's intellectual.

Where's it coming from?

Caro: Well its something that I evolve a connection with really as I'm working and I think that if you have that almost a heart connection with a piece then it has to be something authentic if its coming from your heart, rather than something you're just making up, plucking a concept out of the air and thinking 'ok, well I'll manufacture that in physicality'.