Page 71 - The Digital Cloth Holiday issue 2

Sculptural

Art By Barbara Franc

London based sculptor Barbara has always been
fascinated by the sculptural forms of animals,
they present a never-ending source of inspiration
to her. She studied painting and drawing 1974-78

at Morley College of Art under Maggie
Hambling and John Bellany, later learning
sculptural techniques with Avril Vellacott,
Richmond College and with most influentially
with Mary Orrom, a talented sculptor who
became a very close friend.
Most of the techniques involved, with all the
many various styles and uses of unusual media,
Barbara has researched, problem solved and

developed herself. She is now a much sort-after
tutor, passing on her ideas and guidance to
others, Barbara has taught textile sculpture
workshops in Australia, France and the UK. She
uses a wide variety of media from metals to
textiles, the most important criteria being that
they are, as far as possible, either ‘found’,
discarded or recycled.
This is not just for sound ecological reasons but
also because she enjoys the challenge of
transforming something with a past history into

something new and exciting. Barbara exhibits
widely at Art Fairs all over the UK and abroad
with several galleries representing her work. The
British Crafts Council invited her for inclusion in
their first ever Pavilion exhibition at the London
Design Fair 2016. She has had several solo shows
and her collectors are from all over the Globe.
Corporate commissions include works for the
prestigious Rosewood Hotel, London;

Prudential Property Investment, Pizza Express
flagship stores, the Ontario Science Centre,
Toronto, Canada and the ‘Denim’ exhibition at
Spielzeug Welt Museum, Basel, Switzerland.