Every sculpture starts with a doodle in a sketchbook. Googling some images is useful, because I can look at my subject from every angle. Break it down into shapes, just like a cartoonist does. I think of curves as segments in an orange, or a beach ball; Flat pointy ovals, that come together to form a round shape. And I play with shape- is it cutest if it’s squatter/taller/rounder? Cuteness is of fundamental importance to my finished designs! I want to make things that bring a smile to your face, not give you nightmares.

In recent year, I’ve also been updating my designs so that they work in sections, so that the design can be refigured so that a head or a foot can tilt a certain way- up, down, and side to side. Every sculpture I make is unique, and that is in every sense. My sculptures need to have various posing options. I want my customer to have the only tawny owl of that size, colour palette, head tilt and expression that exists. And if you’ve ever thought two of my owls look the same, but must be different because of the foliage, then that is because I have replaced the wreath for something I thought suits them better! I am occasionally sneaky like that. Sometimes I forget certain colours just don’t sell. I should know better, but I’m fond of representing a full rainbow nonetheless.

Designing my sculptures from flat paper takes a little bit of practice. These days. I can eyeball whether I’ll need 5, 6 or 7 pieces of a particular curve to make a ball. When I started, it was less intuitive. Sometimes I would make adjustments to curve in one direction, only to find, when I started to build it, that it was curving in the opposite direction. It’s weirdly very easy to do the opposite, rather than slightly more or less than you intended. Every piece of paper has tabs, which are glued onto the inside of the structure. This makes sure that every seam is double strength, so there are no weak spots in the design. Getting the last section in is always a bit fiddly, and it’s important not to be messy because I’m allergic to glue. (If you’re thinking what an odd career choice for such an allergy, you’d have a point, except I have an astounding list of allergies and intolerances, so every day is a rollercoaster. At least you know the hands that made your sculpture were very clean!) I use a very strong PVA type of glue, which is water based. The varnish I use is water resistant though, to make sure nothing ever becomes unglued once it is dried.