A Portable Sculptor's Studio February 4, 2016

One of the things I do before going on a research trip is to put together my portable sculptor’s studio. The scale of my work is directly affected by this box. This is because all the armatures I have made up have to fit in it, so there are height and size restrictions.

Then there is the weight. Ideally it has to be under 26kg to meet the aeroplane luggage allowance. So everything I put inside the box has to be light! This has meant making a few adjustments. For example,  some of my armatures / maquettes have polystyrene inside. They sit on perforated steel instead of a solid sheet, which shaves off a few pounds. I can get pretty nerdy about the details, but preparation now means I spend constructive time in front of wildlife later.

The box I have now is Mark II. The first one I took out to Kenya arrived in bits! Luckily, I had a handy roll of duct tape inside – I always try to be prepared for anything! I was able to strap the whole thing back together so that I could bring my original sculptures home. Mark II has survived some seriously extreme sculpting. It travelled from Antarctica to Namibia, Dubai, Kenya and the Varzuga River in Russia’s Kola Peninsula. It even floats!