Family

A favourite family foray during Covid lockdown in London, past the tumulus, the suspected burial ground of Boudica, ancient British warrior queen who in 60ce led a revolt against Roman rule.

My dear friend Monika and her siblings commissioned a Glass Cathedral of their parents with the grandchildren, at home in the place of many happy memories, their farm in Colombia.

I know Monika’s kids well, Lukas is my godson, and believe these figures capture their brilliant energy quite uncannily!!

Tons more beach scenes under 'Beach' in the custom theme list, but thought I'd add this happy scene to 'Family' as so many happy family memories happen at the beach, by the sea.

Winner of the "My Happy Place" competition.

Bessie's competition entry: Kyparissi is a small village in Laconia, the eastern coast of Peloponnesus in Greece. It is where my family is from and home for generations. I bring my son there every year and watch him hunt for crab and sea urchin like I did as a child and my parents and grandparents before me. The waters are crystal blue, groves full of olives and the serenade of cicadas plays throughout the hot lazy days. Of all the gifts I will leave to my son, this will be by far the most treasured.

From Bessie on hearing she'd won: “I am in tears! I can't even begin to express how much this means to me. My son has special needs and as an older parent, every move I make is to prepare him and make memories for him and now I will have a magical piece made by you to share with him that he will carry with him forever!”

One of my favourite commission ever, read the brief!

“My late father had an expression (ever the optimist) “Enough blue sky to make an elephant a pair of trousers”. I think this is a bastardised version of a sailor’s weather observation. My father was a gorgeous man with a fondness for beige trousers, brown lace-ups and a checked shirt and a very deep love for his grandson.

Is this something you could work with?”

I was charmed to be commissioned to make this family portrait of the Katsins in California, partly because the background was my literal backyard (well, up the hill behind my old house) and also because I got to make the tiniest ever toy ELMO.

From Katja: "I'm looking to commission a piece of art to mark the adoption of my daughter and becoming a family. Somehow the way you have managed to capture the scale of life in these little boxes ---vast and tiny, feels right for our story. I think of our story as the most improbable of miracles that the universe brought her into my life.”

The theme I come back to (our little mantra) is "Gifts from the Universe", I say this all the time about Amber. She really is a gift from the universe in how she landed in my life and has inspired so many other unexpected gifts, in terms of deeper connections with friends, new adventures and perspectives. All kids are miraculous in their own way but she really is a special and luminous little person and reminds me every day about how unexpected life and the universe is…"