Wold Wire Sculptures: Meet the Yorkshire wire sculptor who says lockdown saved his business

Richard Gibson will be displaying his fantastic range of ‘wildlife in wire’ at Harrogate Flower Show later this month (April 20-23) and is now a regular at Art in the Pen at Skipton livestock market and has recently made his first appearance at the Great North Art Show at Ripon Cathedral, from which he was invited to exhibit his works in a moorland exhibition at the Tinker Gallery in Ilkley.

Richard said his move to Thixendale turned out to be a very real blessing due to the coronavirus restrictions.

“We moved here, and then the nation went into lockdown, but the one thing that people were able to do was walk. Thixendale has the Yorkshire Wolds Way and Centenary Way long distance walks running through it.

“It proved a massive fluke and possibly saved my business at the time because all of a sudden more people saw my work and word of mouth is what helps. People get to know you and then other people see your work. I also use social media, and now I’m getting these wonderful opportunities with galleries and exhibitions. My location here has certainly helped.

“Harrogate Flower Show is now a big one and the great thing is that they approached me, because my works tie in with garden design. Last time I was there it was really good.

Richard can turn his hand to any wire sculpture. You should see the first one I ever saw of his, which was a leopard; and one of his latest creations, which isn’t wildlife at all, but instead a young woman with hair seemingly flailing in the wind and an arm having also seemingly disappeared. It is entrancing, but it’s owls that take up most of his time.

“I make a lot of owls,” said Richard. “My order book keeps filling up with requests for them.

Everyone says they feel sorry for me, because I spend half of my life now making owls to order, but I look at it like this. They are such wonderful birds and there are so many ways to create the sculptures that they are never boring.

“They are also one of the trickiest sculptures in order to get them how I want them. I spend a great deal of time getting the faces right. There’s a really fine margin between something looking quite sharp or not just there.

“The first thing I will often do if I’ve had a week off is make an owl as it is now my bread and butter and I don’t want my standard slipping. I make things that have got homes, my works are mostly commission based, as that makes me more financially viable.

“Dependent on the size of sculpture I can average two or three a week, but if somebody orders say a galloping horse that knocks me out for a month.

Dancing hares, a fallow buck, a red stag and the girl with the hair are all among Richard’s more recent works but he recalls fondly his inspiration and his leopard.

“At the time that would have been my finest sculpture. It was about eight years ago and I wasn’t experienced in wire at the time. I just jumped in both feet first. When I look back on it now I’m really proud of it.

“I’ve always loved art. When I was with a local ecology company about ten years ago, on a newt survey, a woman had made a duck out of chicken wire and had stuck it beside her pond.

“The sculpture itself didn’t interest me, but the way that you could see the light bouncing off the form just stood out and it captivated me. I thought, wow! I saw the potential in it and thought I’d love to play with wire, because it looks so much fun, and would suit me. Now it’s my business and it is growing.

“I loved making the dancing hares! The base had to be quite heavy and the wire used on the hare in the air had to be lighter than the hare on the ground. I do a lot more fabrication now to get the right balance. A galloping horse is as much a challenge in getting the perfect frame as there is the sculpture.

“I like trying out quirky, original wire art, something completely different because I don’t want to get sterile.

“The only time I really have to do new stuff is just after Christmas. When I was coming up with the young lady I was thinking about the current state of mental health, particularly in young women, but it is quite fun leaving art to other people’s interpretations.

Richard’s brand is now Wold Wire Sculptures. He said he has always made a point of not looking out for other wire sculptors’ work although he has seen some, albeit sometimes inadvertently.

“It has nothing to do with being arrogant. I just don’t want to be influenced by anyone. There are a few of us out there, but from what I have seen we all have different styles. I’ve always been obsessed with art of all kinds. I was always pencil drawing when I was a kid.

www.woldwiresculptures.co.uk