Dancing With The Devil

The making of eighteen devils (well twenty one now)

It’s been a while since I’ve done any commercial sculpting and so making these devils has been an interesting experience. It throws up a whole different set of challenges and as these Devils will be stealthily fixed to various walls in a Town centre (Banksy Style) there is a need for a responsible approach. I’ve had the freedom to come up with designs and produce the sculptures how I see fit the only guide was to refrain from the ugly or grotesque because they will make up a trail that must be family friendly. For many the Devil is a potent symbol of evil but these are more impish, I guess you could say lucky Devils and I hope they are seen in that light. I have played around with different finishes so as to give variation and make the trail a bit more exiting. I’ve also tried to make the devils friendly, thoughtful and curious little creatures, I guess they have to be serious yet have a sense of fun too. I just hope that I’ve got the balance right and as always time will tell. The grey devil pictured here is based on a devil in Stonegate  in the City of York.

The Silver devil below is loosely based  on an old stone carving of a devil/imp in Chester cathedral.

The next devil plays homage to a more gothic approach and injects a variation in the interpretation of the devil himself.

and this was my attempt to make a more friendly devil, simplistic and primitive, a light-hearted approach  😉

Pink Too

Finally this devil is the main character of which there are six, all in different colours, he’s a serious little chap with a smile and a wink and has the all-round qualities required. Here he is being sculpted in my Studio

Better the devil you know 🙂