Description
Inspiration for my Male Stag Beetle Ring
Ever since I can remember, my father has had a beautiful model of a stag beetle made of sheet metal and silver plated.The moment he saw my very first creation (the Red-Eyed Tree Frog), he asked me to make him a solid silver one. The result was Stanley, who is now one of my most recognised pieces. Stanley was then joined by Hilda, the female stag beetle ring. But I have always been tempted to do a male stag beetle ring – even though he should probably carry a safety warning. Then I met wildlife sculptor Luke (https://www.lukeblackart.co.uk/)…
As a wild and bug-crazy 9 year old, he spotted a stag beetle in the garden and was keen to look at it for as long as possible. On running back through the house with a jar with which to entrap it, he tripped. He cut himself on the broken jar, causing nerve and artery damage, and loss of mobility in some fingers. Many years later, he discovered that the manipulation of clay for sculpture also acted as a form of hand therapy and allowed him to connect more deeply with traditional clay sculpture.
In his words: “I feel the stag beetle was there as a beginning to my path as a sculptor and the reason behind me connecting with clay and that connection continued my practice into now my career. I felt it would be great to wear Emma’s beautifully designed stag beetle ring as reminder for me: that, without that moment, I may not have found or connected with the medium I use today and that I should be grateful to be in a line of work that I love!”