Rebecca Stevenson-Eyes for Detail

// March 18th, 2010 // b-hind the scenes // Lawrence

After being astounded by her sculptures in January, we got in contact with Rebecca and met her at her studio. On arrival, we foundered over the strong perfume of these particular bouquets but Rebecca has clearly built her tolerance against resin fumes over the last 10 years.


It’s taken her that long to evolve her unique process of sculpting wax and resin. So window ajar, some fresh air in the lungs, I noticed the orderly manner in which her space is organised. Not exactly like a dentist’s office but there is a place for everything. There are some work-tops around the edges, a computer in the corner, a pile of giant bubble-wrap rolls and molds in the opposite corner.  It gives her enough space in the center of the room for her to do the meticulous pruning her sculptures require.

Rebecca’s studio space is near the Old Kent Road in south London. She cycles in everyday with a routinely disciplined timetable, 10a.m. till 6 or 7p.m.  3 to 4 weeks before an exhibition that changes to 12 hour days. But she likes that part of the process. In fact she enjoys all aspects of her working life. She is settled into the rhythm of her craft. Comfortable in the way she sculpts and in her changing creative seasons. Her sculptures lead to exhibitions, these exhibitions lead to sales and after exhibitions comes some much needed downtime. Time to relax , time to do further research, a warm-up, leading her back to the studio sculpting.


Her immediate plans for developing her sculptures are to use a number of animals interacting with one another, opening the possibilities for more interesting and dynamic forms. She explains:

“I try to choose animals that elicit a direct emotional response from the viewer, rather than choosing them for, say, symbolic reasons. Just as the food-like aspects of my work are intended to stimulate a physical, sensual response, bypassing the intellectual. The animals are intended to exert an emotional “pull” which is hard to resist, even though the subject may be really kitsch. I’m very interested in “cuteness” and hence will be working not only on the deer piece we talked about but quite probably some kittens, alone or in groups. I also use animals that have a strong attraction or resonance, like swans or horses, that we tend to elevate and admire.”

The nature of her process dictates a maximum of 10 sculptures can be produced in a year and that’s a push. It’s evident in each of Rebecca’s sculptures how important the details are and a fine tooth comb can’t come close to her microscopic intricacies. Luckily for Rebecca, she has a close set of artist friends who occasionally step in to tell her when enough is enough. The final, mysterious stage in her complex process she calls ‘frosting’. The actual methods are top secret but its a bit like showering icing sugar on a dessert.  This is the final firework in her sculpting armory.

I can see why Rebecca has become so protective of her techniques. They are her language. A dialogue she alone has invested in her creations over all this time. She works with her wax and resin in solitude and has uncovered  secrets through her commitment and perseverance with these materials. Her journey has gradually unravelled these gifts and they are key to what makes her work unique. Like the Samurai master, she may yet take on a protégé to preserve this Tussaud’s legacy but for now there’s a lot of exciting work to come.

Visit her website to see her great work.

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