Sustainable Bird Sculptures (THREE SOLD)
By Amanda Bradbury
Original artworks
Individually sculpted in recycled/upcycled wire and cable, some with recycled or foraged wooden stands
Sizes:
Black-tailed Godwit: H: 44cm x W: 23cm - SOLD
Lapwing (Pecking): H: 20cm x W: 29cm - £395
Lapwing (Standing): H: 32cm x W: 29cm - £395 - SOLD
Pheasant: H: 27cm x L: 67cm x D 13cm - £595 - SOLD
Pied Wagtail: H 12cm x W 20cm - £145
Grey Heron (new as of July 2024): H: 54cm; W: 48cm; D: 15cm - £695
Amanda's wire bird sculptures are intricate and densely-woven with keen observational details to ensure they are anatomically correct. Whether it's a small garden bird, a wading bird or a rural species, she captures their spirit and character every time.
You can see her technical illustration training shining through, as well as her 20+ years working at the Slimbridge wetland bird conservation centre, in her ability to capture the expressive stance of each animal and her creative use of iridescent and coloured wires and painted highlights.
Each bird has a sturdy chicken-wire armature and a stable stand, either on their own feet or on a foraged or recycled piece of wood. The life-size Pheasant is the first of its kind, unique and particularly colourful and magnificent, with a vintage metal tape measure cleverly used to fashion his long tail feathers. The majestic Grey Heron is perfectly balanced on one foot, with clever detailing added with fine wire thread and cable ties.
ABOUT AMANDA BRADBURY
Inspired by nature, artist, sculptor and environmentalist, Amanda Bradbury, celebrates the beauty of birds through her colourful, flowing acrylic paintings, which illustrate the relationship between wildlife and the landscape, and her intricate wire sculptures.
Her work is developed from observational sketches made in the field.
Although she has been painting and making all her life and became a professional illustrator and graphic designer for a number of years, her calling was to work in conservation. After over 20 years at the Slimbridge wetland conservation centre, she is now a full-time artist, using her sound understanding of ecology and the natural world to help inform her compositions and sculptures.
Ten years ago Amanda started making wire sculptures – a practical and creative departure when she inherited lots of old computer cable and printing aluminium sheets from her late father.
Her sculptures capture the natural behaviour and character of the subject, using upcycled waste wire, cable and other unwanted materials to reflect her passion to minimise her impact on the environment. The cables are stripped by hand or left intact, depending on the desired colour or texture wanted.