Off-Roading - and Other Road Trips: new work in every momth
By Steve Woodcock
Hand-built stoneware with coloured glazes on stonewarre base
Original artworks - each one unique
Off-Roading dimensions: L: 25cm; D: 16cm; H: 12cm - £215 - SOLD
Individually conceived, designed and built – there are no moulds involved – these energetic pieces radiate humour and movement as well as having a nostalgic, vintage appeal and innocent charm.
The first piece above is a strange, slightly futuristic, armoured-car-full of intrepid adventurers who are off-road and bent on dare-devil excitement, but they may have a few probems with deep mud. Luckily, there's a shovel strapped to the side of the vehicle...
Steve tells stories in clay. Like so many of his highly distinctive sculptures, these anthropomorphic canine (and assorted other) characters are in the midst of their own narrative, waiting for us to make up the missing elements of their adventure.
Details of each figure - clothing, accoutrements and accompanying pets - characterise these pieces. New sculptures, each with their own storyline, arrive all the time: for Spring 2024 we have various dogs in cars, skateboarding dogs, skateboarding birds and other friends. Prices range from £15 - £450.
Commissions can be undertaken.
ABOUT STEVE WOODCOCK
Steve is captivated by ceramic creation. Whether it's thrown vessels or hand-built, sculptured pieces, he never tires of exploring the versatility and diversity of clay. Every piece takes on individual attributes and features. It's an iterative and an organic process - and marvellously addictive.
Working from his Oxfordshire studio, his sculptures and vessels are all one-offs, though he has developed ranges and 'families' with similar motifs, structural characteristics and other idiosyncrasies.
With their fused mechanical and organic limbs, his larger creatures also have surface textures that suggest musculature and physical detail, like skin and scales, melded together with robotic joints, spouts and hinges, all underpinned by a clay skeleton. Visual clues hint at each figure's character and back-story.
Smaller sculptures always hold a story too, sometimes humorous and sometimes melancholic – their tales evolve as Steve builds each one.
The pots and vessels are also quirky and - in their finishes, glazes and design details - hold individual appeal, enhancing their functional form.
His distinctive work has been exhibited at the International Ceramics Federation and displayed and sold in numerous regional galleries and shows. He has produced commissions of many kinds, including tableware sets and chess sets of ceramic figures and handmade boards.