Solo Exhibitions
- GULP - a 250 piece swallow installation, Wilderness Festival, August 2015
- The Feathered Aviator - Commemorating WW1 - An installation including collaborative work made with local primary schools, New Brewery Arts, Cirencester, July 2014
- The Lund Gallery, North Yorkshire, Nov 2011
Selected Group Exhibitions
- Sculpture Showcase, Burton Art Gallery, Bideford, 7 August - 18 Sept 2017
- Sculpture Exhibition, Select Festival, Stroud, 25 Apr -28 May 2017
- Members Summer Show, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey, 16 July - 4 Sept 2016
- Art in the Garden, Avebury Manor, Wiltshire, 27 Aug - 25 Sept 2016
- Wading Birds, The Shop Floor Project, Ulverston, Cumbria, June - July 2016
- Elements of Capability, Outdoor Sculpture, Lacock Abbey, May 2016
- Animal Tales, Craft in the Bay, Cardiff, March-May 2016
- Christmas Exhibition, Bircham Gallery, Norfolk, December 2015
- Affordable Art Fair - Battersea, Hybrid Gallery, October 2015
- Twenty Twenty Gallery, Shropshire, September 2015
- In the Window, Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool, August 2015
- Fresh Air, Quennington, Gloucestershire, June 2015
- Affordable Art Fair - Hampstead, Hybrid Gallery, June 2015
- Birds in Three Forms, The Shop Floor Project, Ulveston, Cumbria, April 2015
- Affordable Art Fair - Battersea, Hybrid Gallery, Nov 2014
- Affordable Art Fair - Bristol, Hybrid Gallery, September 2014
- The Coast Show, Twenty Twenty Gallery, Much Wenlock, July 2014
- Off The wall - Wiltshire sculptors touring bursary show, Salisbury Library & The Pound Arts Centre, Nov 2013
- Joint show with Robert Greenhalf, The Bircham Gallery, Holt Norfolk, Oct 2013
- Making and Drawing Show, The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire, June – Sept 2013
- Fresh Air, Quennington, Gloucestershire, June 2013
- The Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey, Devon, June 2013
- Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne, Dorset, March 2013
- All Wired Up, The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, Leeds, Nov 2012
- Animals Up Front, Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany, Dec 2011
- Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Feb 2008
- Origin, The London Craft Fair organised by the Crafts Council, Oct 2007
Public Commissions
- New Brewery Arts Center, Cirencester, October 2014
Bibliography
- Making and Drawing, Kyra Cane,2013
- The Wildlife Artists Handbook, Jackie Garner, 2013
- Sculpting in Wire, Cathy Miles,2009
Press Articles
- Elle Dec, July 2015
- Country LIfe, Jan 2015
- Period Living August 2011 ‘Behind the Craft’
- ‘Flights of Fancy’ - feature article, Country Living, April 2008
- VIP Feature Page, BBC Homes and Antiques June 2008.
Interviews
- Interviewed about techniques and inspirations for HTV’s In the Making programme, July 2002
Materials Matter...............
“As other artists use pencil, I use wire as a drawing material. It goes without saying that I am a hoarder of wire. Picking up a rusty piece of metal on a farm track, or finding a squashed electrical cable in a road, are for me, like finding little bits of treasure. Scrap yards are favourite place of mine the textures and piles of wire are very inspiring. I intentionally seek out old and interesting wires and like using rusty and corroded wires – the patina attracts me. By collecting wires I feel like I am collecting my lines with which to make my drawings – some are bold and thick like a marker pen, others are hair thin like the faintest of pencil lines.
My work focuses on birds and I regularly go out on drawing trips to nature reverses and islands. Recently I have started to pick up bits of wood and metal scraps where I am drawing and incorporate them into the sculptures of birds I make in that place.”
“Born in 1974 Celia studied Fine Art Sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art. Having experimented with many different materials, wire became her favoured medium, with which she creates animated sculptures of birds.
Growing up as a farmer’s daughter, Celia developed a passion for the natural environment and birds in particular are her inspiration. A lot of her time is spent drawing and studying domestic and native British birds from life, capturing their movement and character is her primary concern. Celia draws with wire, as others draw with pencil, for her creating sculptures out of wire is like drawing in three dimensions. She will travel on location to sketch particular species in their habitat and often small wire studies and even life-size pieces are made directly in front of the subject.
She finds that wire has a spontaneity that can give her sculptures a feeling of life and energy. Her materials are mainly sourced from scrap yards, each visit brings new colours and textures which helps to inspire the next creation. The wires may have previously been used for telephone and electrical wiring, or perhaps some rusty fencing found abandoned in a field.”
Awards
- ‘Best maker in South West’, The Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey, Devon, June 2007
- ‘Wetlands For Life’ - Bursary from Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Sep 2005
- Awarded First in Wire Art Awards, Gardenz Show, Christchurch, New Zealand, Oct 2000
Workshops and Residencies
- The Feathered Aviator- Workshops in 5 Cirencester primary schools to make carrier pigeons for the installation to commemorate WW1, June 2014
- Specialist Crafts - Teaching a series of national workshops for teachers in using wire, April 2014 –ongoing
- Skills in the Making - in partnership with NSEAD, Training workshops for teachers, Jan – May 2013
- Artist in Residence – Make and Create - studio set-up in the Fritz Hanson Furniture & Design flagship store, London, May 2013
- AA2A Award - working in Gloucestershire College Forest of Dean Campus using the printmaking facilities to experiment with printmaking with wire, Jan – April 2013
- Artist in residence Shetland Islands - worked in three primary schools making sculptures using indigenous basket making techniques, Jan – May 2006
