{"id":1103,"date":"2023-10-13T09:22:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T09:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland\/?p=1103"},"modified":"2023-10-13T09:24:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T09:24:35","slug":"rutlands-tribute-to-queen-elizabeth-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/highlights\/rutlands-tribute-to-queen-elizabeth-ii\/10-2023","title":{"rendered":"Rutland\u2019s Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a busy autumn for Hywel Pratley, working hard in his studio to bring to life a likeness of the late Queen Elizabeth II. As Pride goes to press the process of casting Hywel\u2019s work in bronze is taking place with his partners at Le Blanc Fine Art Foundry helping to create a permanent memorial to Britain\u2019s longest reigning monarch…<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Hywel\"
Why is HM The Queen wearing a paper cup? This bit of the process is known as \u2018gating;\u2019 a paper cup will be used as an opening into which the molten bronze can be poured. The vertical \u2018runners\u2019 around the cup allow the bronze to run down evenly to the bottom of the mould.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Working with almost a tonne of glowing, orange, molten bronze as it reaches 1,140\u00b0c, the team at Le Blanc Fine Art Foundry near Melton Mowbray certainly won\u2019t be chilly this winter as the rest of us wrap up warm.<\/p>\n

The Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr Sarah Furness had the idea for a memorial to the late Queen as a result of the strength of response in Rutland to her death on 8th September 2022.<\/p>\n

Dr Furness then formed a project team. There were no public funds or pot of money. The hope was that individuals, institutions and businesses would be inspired by the idea and contribute. They were! In less than a year the money has been raised \u2013 the bulk of it in less than six months facilitating a real tribute to Her Majesty, Rutland and the Sculptor.<\/p>\n

By March 2023 Dr Furness had sufficient funds to know that she could give the project the go-ahead. The brief was to present Her Late Majesty as monarch, in young middle age but to make the statue engaging and to show Her Majesty\u2019s warmth and humanity. In discussion with Hywel it was decided to show her in robes with a crown but to have Corgis at her feet and at the base of the plinth.<\/p>\n

From March 2023 Hywel was able to work, from his first maquette, on constructing the sculpture\u2019s armature \u2013 the frame which would support the clay, created from expanded metal wire, and filled with expanding foam and polystyrene. From that point, layers of clay two to three inches in depth were modelled to create the likeness, reflecting a Queen Elizabeth II of the 1950s\/1960s dressed in formal robes and surrounded by three of her beloved dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer Majesty was possibly the most famous person in the world,\u201d says Hywel. \u201cWith that comes a degree of difficulty because everybody will have a particular image of her in mind and a particular expression of the late Queen from a particular time of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile anatomy and representation are important, capturing somebody in sculpture is always an interpretation of the subject. An influential teacher of mine once advised me that \u2018if what you\u2019re trying to do is reproduce a human being, perhaps you should go and procreate.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith hindsight, that was very wise because portraiture \u2013 whether on canvas or in the form of sculpture \u2013 is about making a thousand decisions based on ten thousand observations. So while visual accuracy is important, I hope that the finished piece will reflect the spirit of warmth, power, poise, and compassion that ensured the late Queen was so well-respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Wales, Hywel\u2019s early career saw him teaching English in secondary schools into his late twenties, taking an evening course in sculpture under Jan Buckley, resurrecting a childhood interest in the subject \u2013 his mother and father being among his early models.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with the process and enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art to further my studies under Robert Bodem. The plan was to stay for a year, but I actually stuck around for four years. Today I say that I\u2019m in year twenty of my five-year plan!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always fascinated by portrait sculpture and by facial expressions\u201d says Hywel. \u201cAn understanding of anatomy is important, but\u00a0 figurative sculpture offers other expressive\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 possibilities including playing around with the scale of a piece or even the proportions of an ear or a nose.\u201d<\/p>\n

From April – July, Hywel worked to recreate the Queen in detail and at the start of August was ready to begin the moulding process. This involves layers of silicone rubber covering the clay, reaching into every detail of the forms with successively thicker layers of silicone.<\/p>\n

That mould is the first part of a process known as the lost wax method and is a good deal more complex than our abridged description, here.<\/p>\n

A 5mm-6mm wax cast is taken from the silicone rubber mould. A further ceramic mould is then made around this wax cast, then fired, enabling the wax to melt and run out, leaving a cavity precisely the shape, size and detail of the lost wax. This cavity is then filled with molten bronze, and that ceramic mould is smashed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complete piece is made up of more than twenty of these ceramic \u2018shells,\u2019\u201d says Hywel. \u201cAbout 10 for the figure of the Queen herself. She will be roughly 700 kg in weight and stand 7ft tall, positioned on a 5ft plinth upon installation.\u201d In the coming weeks, the bronze will be poured and for the first time Hywel, Le Blanc Fine Art Foundry and Dr Sarah Furness will see the likeness of Her Majesty in bronze.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hoped that installation will take place this winter but there are many things to consider before that\u2019s definite,\u201d says Sarah. \u201cWhenever we welcome members of the Royal Family to Rutland we can show our tribute with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

We think it\u2019ll be a way of remembering the late monarch and celebrate her 70-year legacy which will prove fit for a Queen.<\/p>\n

Generosity &\u2008Passion…<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr Sarah Furness thanks Hywel for producing something that is a beautiful tribute and will become a memorable and much-loved Rutland landmark<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cHywel has really done us proud,\u201d says Dr Sarah Furness, Lord Lieutenant of Rutland and one of the people who have helped to make Rutland\u2019s statue of the late Queen a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the people of Rutland really do deserve recognition for their tremendously strong support of our statue campaign. We\u2019ve had donations from many individuals and businesses and right from the beginning of the project the response really has been tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe began the project with no funding, but it soon became apparent that the support we had for a permanent expression of gratitude towards Her Majesty was tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very proud that the statue will be the first planned memorial statue of the late Queen in the UK. Following national and international press coverage of Rutland\u2019s statue there are now moves for a national memorial. What is planned nationally will only be revealed to 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

www.rutlandlordlieutenant.org.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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