Edge Sculpture
Matt Buckley started off his sculpting career over 20 years ago, having been afforded the opportunity to hone his craft by following in the footsteps of his step father, Robert Harrop, by working on the ‘Country Companions’ and later named ‘Doggie People’ range which have resided successfully to this day within the ‘giftware’ and ‘collectible’ industry for well over 25 years themselves.
Matt remains the Creative Director of Robert Harrop Designs LTD and indeed the skills and ability to manufacture quality figurines from within their family run company in Shropshire has enabled this very new collection of work to become a reality and Edge Sculpture to thrive.
Matt painstakingly creates each of his sculptures from clay. Once he's satisfied with with shape, a mould is created from the original clay model. Using this mould, a special mixture of marble stone is then patiently poured into the master mould, which is in turn placed into a vacuum chamber to aid the bleeding process to remove any air bubbles. Once cured and properly hardened, the cast can be removed to reveal the first clean sample. The sculpture then must be prepared for painting. Fettlers eliminate any unwanted mould lines and casting residue using small speed adjustable drills, knives, and sanding blocks. The sculpture then finds its way to the final stage of its journey: painting. The colour patterns developed and the chosen hues are applied, sometimes several times, in order to create the perfect coloured finish.