Cornwall


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-you-become-an-artist">How did you become an artist?</h2>



<p>I was born into a family of studio potters in Newlyn, helping my parents to design and produce ceramics from a young age. Being immersed in that highly creative environment left a strong impression, I chose to study sculpture at university and developed my own artistic style. I have worked as an artist ever since, my practice a mix of large-scale public projects, private commissions and exhibitions of studio work.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="839" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq-839x1000.jpg" alt="Tom Leaper with his Stainless steel picture at the Hell Bay Hotel in Bryhe" class="wp-image-35440" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq-839x1000.jpg 839w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq-671x800.jpg 671w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq-768x915.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq-1289x1536.jpg 1289w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-sq.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tom Leaper with his Stainless steel picture at the Hell Bay Hotel in Bryher. </figcaption></figure>



<p>Being a part of the community has always been very important to me: for many years I was involved with the Golowan arts festival, I was also part of a small group who set up and ran The Ritz community arts venue in Penzance, and currently I am chairman of the Penwith Society of Arts. I firmly believe that the creative arts should be for all to enjoy.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-you-sum-up-your-work-in-a-sentence">Can you sum up your work in a sentence?</h2>



<p>I work raw materials into unique sculptural forms, each piece designed and formed to engage on an intimate level, fitting within an individual place and time.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-1-1000x667.jpeg" alt="two metal sculptures by Cornish artist Tom Leaper Newlyn" class="wp-image-35436" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-1-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-1-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-1.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-ideal-working-environment">What’s your ideal working environment?</h2>



<p>No distractions! I work from home so there are always other jobs that crop up and need attending to. My ideal working day is being alone in the studio, playing around with the materials, building things, taking them apart, answering questions of construction and aesthetics. There is nothing more energising than being completely lost in the process, music blaring in the background, and abandoned cups of coffee littering every surface.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Ludlo-Angel-1000x667.jpg" alt="Ludlo Angel by Cornish artist Tom Leaper Newlyn" class="wp-image-35438" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Ludlo-Angel-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Ludlo-Angel-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Ludlo-Angel-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Ludlo-Angel.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ludlo Angel</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-a-little-bit-about-your-inspiration-and-process">Tell us a little bit about your inspiration and process.</h2>



<p>When I’m not doing commissioned work, which is influenced by the client’s needs, I’m free to explore my own ideas. I’ll go into the studio with no fixed plan, just an urge to start working. Often, I’ll play around with bronze sheet metal, building free form shapes and trusting in the creative process. I’m fascinated with the process of abstraction. You can start with a representational subject and simplify it, break it down into its formal elements. I prefer to start with the unrecognisable form, and build it up, working until I get a sense of something, a hint of what it ‘is’.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="669" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Tresco-Agave-Fountain-1000x669.jpg" alt="Treso Agave Fountain by Cornish artist Tom Leaper Newlyn" class="wp-image-35439" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Tresco-Agave-Fountain-1000x669.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Tresco-Agave-Fountain-800x535.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Tresco-Agave-Fountain-768x514.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Tresco-Agave-Fountain.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Agave fountain on Tresco</figcaption></figure>



<p>Inspiration is varied and comes from what’s happening around me, during the COVID pandemic I read a lot about the increase in domestic violence against women. It disturbed me a great deal, and I found I was making abstract bronze faces with troubled expressions, at once haunted yet determined. These busts became the ‘Ladies of Lockdown’, a series of work celebrating the inner strength of those who were suffering during that strange and distressing time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-have-to-learn-any-new-skills-to-create-your-works">Did you have to learn any new skills to create your works?</h2>



<p>Every time I start a new project there are technical or artistic problems to be solved, that’s what makes my job so interesting. In recent years I’ve embraced cutting-edge design technology to enhance my traditional sculpting techniques. These include things like vacuum moulding, drone site-mapping and AutoCAD design. Often, I will model a sculpture in clay, then 3D-scan it to be digitally enlarged and milled in high density foam, before being cast in metal at a larger size. This allows me to retain the unique qualities of hand-formed sculpture at an impressive scale. I like testing out new materials and processes; art is all about exploration!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-your-favourite-cornish-views">What are your favourite Cornish views?</h2>



<p>The view from Bosigran headland is breathtaking, immense granite cliffs stretching away on either side, and before you nothing but a vast sea and sky.</p>



<p>Every day I walk my dog Nettles up past Ding Dong Mine and look out across the whole of Mounts Bay. I watch the sun rise above St Michael’s Mount and feel lucky to be a part of it all.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Mounts-Bay-Sunrise-1000x667.jpg" alt="mounts bay sunrise Cornish artist Tom Leaper Newlyn" class="wp-image-35437" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Mounts-Bay-Sunrise-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Mounts-Bay-Sunrise-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Mounts-Bay-Sunrise-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Mounts-Bay-Sunrise.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sunrise over Mounts Bay</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-you-working-on-now">What are you working on now?</h2>



<p>I am just about to begin the modelling stage of a huge memorial project. Working with The St Ives Mariners&#8217; Memorial Group, I designed a life-size bronze sculpture to commemorate St Ives’ proud maritime history. The memorial will depict two pilchard fishermen ‘Tucking the Net’ in celebration of the extensive pilchard fishing industry that operated out of the town.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-2-1000x667.jpeg" alt="Sculptures by Cornish artist Tom Leaper Newlyn" class="wp-image-35435" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-2-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-2-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Cornwall-Tom-Leaper-2.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">St Ives Mariners, Memory Tree Cinnamon Trust</figcaption></figure>



<p>To help fund the casting, production and installation of the main sculpture, I’ve made a limited series of bronze miniatures available for sale. Anyone who buys a maquette will have their name inscribed on the side of the monument as a donor. The memorial will be placed at the start of the town’s iconic Smeatons Pier, overlooking the harbour.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="673" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour.jpeg" alt="St Ives Harbour from the town above Cornwall UK" class="wp-image-22709" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour-300x202.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour-720x485.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour-768x517.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/St-Ives-Harbour-780x525.jpeg 780w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Smeatons Pier, St Ives</figcaption></figure>



<p>Through this project I have spoken to such knowledgeable people, learned a great deal about the unique history and gathered many stories. I feel privileged to be making something to honour the lives of local mariners, fishermen and boat builders, who for hundreds of years landed fish for meat and oil and were the lifeblood of St Ives.</p>



<p>* Maquettes are available for sale at the Penwith Gallery for £1,400 each (26 x 14 x 8cm)</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-can-we-see-your-work-this-year">Where can we see your work this year?</h2>



<p>If you want to come visit me while I’m modelling the memorial, I will be working out of the old Bible Christian Chapel on Back Road West, in the heart of St Ives from now until December. The studio door is open, and I welcome people’s interest in the project. I will also be showing work at the <a href="https://penwithgallery.com/">Members Winter Exhibition at (Muddy Award winning) Penwith Gallery</a> in St Ives, which runs from November 8th – January 4th. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-a-favourite-work-of-yours-or-one-that-holds-strong-memories">Do you have a favourite work of yours or one that holds strong memories?</h2>



<p>In 2007 I created the Newlyn Fisherman Memorial, a 3.2m high statue of bronze and granite to commemorate fishermen lost at sea. With friends and family who work in this dangerous industry, it was a project very close to my heart. This is why I have dedicated so much time fundraising to get the St Ives Mariners’ Memorial off the ground. I feel the people of St Ives deserve to have a place to go to remember their families’ history and sacrifice.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="669" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Newlyn-Fisherman-Memorial-1000x669.jpg" alt="Newlyn Fisherman Memorial sculpture by Cornish artist Tom Leaper" class="wp-image-35441" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Newlyn-Fisherman-Memorial-1000x669.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Newlyn-Fisherman-Memorial-800x535.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Newlyn-Fisherman-Memorial-768x514.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/11/Tom-Leaper-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-November-2024-Newlyn-Fisherman-Memorial.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Newlyn Fisherman Memorial</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-could-magically-transport-one-piece-of-artwork-in-the-world-to-a-wall-in-your-home-what-would-it-be">If you could magically transport one piece of artwork in the world to a wall in your home, what would it be?</h2>



<p>Julio González’s cast iron sculpture ‘<a href="https://juliogonzalez.org/catalogue/daphne/">Daphne</a>’ is lovely, but I’d gladly have any one of his works!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-inspires-you-about-working-in-cornwall">What inspires you about working in Cornwall?</h2>



<p>I’ve lived and worked on the edge of the moors in West Penwith for almost 40 years and feel deeply rooted in its landscape. There is something elemental and captivating about the rugged terrain of the cliffs and moorland, again and again I return there to be energised anew. It’s easy to understand why so many British Modernist artists found inspiration down here.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-the-process-for-creating-an-installation-like-your-work-at-the-coastguard-or-at-newlyn-what-comes-first-the-sculpture-or-the-location">What is the process for creating an installation like your work at the coastguard or at Newlyn? What comes first, the sculpture or the location?</h2>



<p>All sculpture sits within an environment, so having a good understanding of the location is vital when conceiving a new work. Where will the artwork be sited? How will people move around the piece? From what angles will it be viewed? Should it be in harmony with the area or a stark contrast?</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/10/Cornwall-The-Old-Coastguard-Mousehole-1-1000x667.jpeg" alt="Sun and Sail sculpture at the old coastguard mousehole" class="wp-image-35209" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/10/Cornwall-The-Old-Coastguard-Mousehole-1-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/10/Cornwall-The-Old-Coastguard-Mousehole-1-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/10/Cornwall-The-Old-Coastguard-Mousehole-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/10/Cornwall-The-Old-Coastguard-Mousehole-1.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sun and Sail at The Old Coastguard in Mousehole</figcaption></figure>



<p>My Sun and Sail sculpture at <a href="https://cornwall.muddystilettos.co.uk/travel/uk/hotels-inns/review-the-old-coastguard-mousehole-cornwall">The Old Coastguard in Mousehole</a> was designed very much with the final position in mind. Featuring an abstracted design of two bronze sail boats circling the sun. It’s placed at the very end of the long garden, with nothing beyond but a stunning backdrop of open sea. The sails were designed to balance lightly in the composition, as boats moving across the water, framing St Clement’s Isle in the distance.</p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.tomleaper.com">tomleaper.com</a></em></p>



<p>Instagram &#8211; @tom_leaper</p>



<p><strong><em>Penwith Gallery, Back Rd East, St Ives TR26 1NL</em></strong></p>



<p><em>The members exhibition runs until 4 Jan 2025</em></p>


Muddy Meets: Tom Leaper, Sculptor

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