I’m hoping to be able to attend Jilly Sutton’s forthcoming masterclass at the Oxford College of Garden Design, on the 11th November. The OCGD masterclasses are great opportunities to hear first-hand from internationally renown experts, and attendance is not just limited to current students and alumni. Last year I was disappointed to miss the legendary John Brookes, but Duncan Heather did post an excerpt on his blog – it’s well worth a look.
I’m particularly looking forward to this one. I feel Jilly’s work has a kind of softness in it’s beauty which is rarely found in contemporary sculpture: she usually works in wood, and many of her subjects are faces – with soft, gentle features. It takes a rare skill to bring out the natural lines of wood grain and combine it with the subject so successfully.