Barbara Franc

I find the sculpting of a horse a really interesting challenge, they are a form we think we know so well. Their power, physique and the debt owed them by humanity as the early fast vehicle of trade and conquest has always been a subject for artists since early dawn of time. 

Artform: Sculpture/Mixed Media

The only mythical beast I've made so I had free range to make it look however I wanted!

Recycled metals,decorative tin,and various pieces of 'found' materials such as umbrellas, keys, bike spanners, cutlery, chain saw blades, hinges, dog leads and lawn mower parts.

63cm x 63cm x 25cm

Artform: Sculpture/Mixed Media

The Hare is a theme I have returned to several times, the initial inspiration came from a visit to the Natural History Museum where I studied their skeletal structure.  I was amazed to see that the bones of their forelegs have an unexpected  elegant bend, they seem so delicate but they are in fact tough little creatures made for running.
Rather than portray them in full flight or boxing, as many other artists do, I prefer to model them in a sitting pose, poised for action.

 I've included a few of our very colourful native birds, especially the very 'flashy' Kingfisher.
Also  three of the Woodpeckers found in the UK, they are all made to hang directly onto a wall.
As with all my other birds, they are approximately lifesize.

Steel wire, wire netting, recycled biscuit tins

115cm x 37cm x 90cm      2009

This lifesize Zebra foal is made from recycled biscuit tins selected for their colour and then cut, sanded and stitched in place onto a frame made from wire.

The name is a nod to a certain biscuit company some of whose tins I used in this piece, his stable mate Palmer the Zebra is other half of the pair!
To see Palmer and another smaller zebra please scroll down.

Dogs being 'man's best friend' are an obvious animal to sculpt and several of the ones I have made use my own lurchers as source material.  Rufus, my deerhound cross, is the current model.
The ones shown on this page are made with my technique of using recycled materials and wire, for ones that are made solely in wire and can go outdoors, please look then up on another image page.

Steel wire, galvanised wire netting, resin, red oxide paint.

94cm x 56cm x 29cm

Foxes are so much a part of urban life and this one is based on a splendid animal that prowls our street in the early hours. The shape is first made with the wire netting and when I am satisfied with the pose I then thread in a stronger wire to act as the armature. This is an odd way to work but it gives me a greater freedom to keep the piece looking alive. It is suitable to go outdoors but will need the occasional hosing down of cobwebs and a re-spray  of red oxide now and then.

Artform: Sculpture/wirework

Steel wire, wire net, copper wire, recycled tin

90cm x 80cm x 48cm

I wanted to make my own version of a ‘Trophy’ Stag’s Head to hang on a wall but wanted to make it seem a lot more fun than the real thing. This splendid Red Deer Stag is straight off the Highland moors and has raided someones prized flower bed!

Artform: Sculpture

Recycled metals, steel wire, copper wire, old biscuit tins and found objects.

62cm x 55cm x 20cm

This piece was made to commission and incorporates a whole variety of found objects from buttons and cutlery to sardine cans and spanners.I love the idea of an alley cat being made from detritus that he might wander around in on his nightly jaunts. The basic armature is first made from wire to which the objects are then offered up to and then attached by copper wire. The eye is from a bottle top of a favourite wine of the artist!

Artform: mixed media/sculpture

Recycled decorative old tins, strandboard

81cm x 161cm x 2.5cm

I have always been fascinated by the picture ‘The Cholmondeley Ladies/Sisters/Twins’ now hanging in Tate Britain. It was painted on a wood base in Tudor times by an unknown artist but it has an incredibly contemporary composition and I often find myself drawn to go see it.

This is my own version of it, also with a wood base.
I have cut pieces of recycled, decorative tins selected for their colours, sanded, hammered and distressed before nailing them into place. The collars and ruffs are slightly 3D and the whole piece is a ‘painting’ using colours only from the tins.

I had enormous fun making this piece which led me on to do a few other homage pieces to Matisse

Artform: Mixed Media

I have put these little birds  under the title of LBJ (little brown jobs!) the slightly unkind term that 'twitchers' sometimes use. The Robins are here under protest.

Steel wire, recycled tin and copper wire

90cm x 90cm x 90cm

This is a suspended light fitting/Chandelier made from steel wire, recycled coloured tin and copper wire and is hung by 4 nylon lines from a wooden circular disc also covered with coloured tin which is secured to a joist in the ceiling. It is a fun piece loosely based on a planet form and when illuminated reminds me of the Tectonic plates of a Planet’s surface! Inside the globe is a smaller Chinese paper lantern housing the light bulb to give a lovely diffused light.

The heigh at which the globe is suspended can be suited to fit it’s location.

Artform: 3D object

Welded steel armature, wire netting, recycled biscuit tins, recycled copper wire, found objects

300cm x 160cm x 150cm

This tree was a corporate commission by Pruprim for the new Imperium office building in Reading. It has a welded steel armature clad in wire netting and recycled biscuit tins. The tin is cut, hammered and then stitched onto a structure with copper wire. The creatures are made from patterned tin and various found objects. The animals are two Red Squirrels , two Pine Martens, two Thieving Magpies and a Woodpecker, they are all indigenous to the British Isles. The piece is sited in the main Atrium of the building surrounded by seating areas and a cafeteria, I wanted it to evoke a feeling of a calmness and to bring a smile to peoples faces as they look up and recognise the various creatures.

Artform: Architecture and environment

Wire copper, recycled tin, plastic milk cartons

58cm x 90cm x26cm

Sculpture made from wire netting, copper, recycled scrap metal tins and plastic milk cartons!

Artform: Sculpture

Steel wire, old cutlery, lead sheet, recycled metals

75cm x 120cm x 20cm

Wall hung piece of sculpture made from wire, old cutlery, lead and recycled metals.

Artform: Sculpture

Galvanised steel wire netting

85cm x 115cm x 58cm

Sculpture made from galvanised steel wire netting, it can be sited either indoors or out.

Artform: Sculpture

Lead sheet, wire, solder, laminated print, laminated lace

52cm x 30cm x 30cm

Sculpture of a corset that an Angel might have need of, the piece encompasses words from the book of poems ‘concerning the angels’ by Rafael Alberti

Artform: Sculpture

Lead, steel wire, solder

48cm x 45cm x 21cm

This piece is based on the idea of protection needed by a 21st Century Guardian Angel. It is made from pieces of re-cycled lead that have been cut, beaten into shape and then stitched and soldered together.

Artform: Sculpture

Steel wire, lead brass, scrap metals

33cm x 58cm x 10cm

This piece is made from assembled pieces of wire and re-cycled materials. The form is based on a fish called a Perch.

Artform: Sculpture

Copper wire, brass shim, solder

55cm x 55cm x 25cm

This cockerel is made from re-cycled copper wire and brass, it is suitable to go either indoors or out. I also make hens that could keep it company!

Artform: Sculpture

Copper wire, wooden fence post

180cm x 40cm x 40cm

This quirky peacock is made from re-cycled heavy gauge copper wire. It is perched onto a painted and tanilised fence post which is then fixed into a metal fencing spur which is set into the ground.

Artform: Sculpture

Lead and preserved timber in base

15cm x 69cm x 15cm

This piece is made of one piece of lead sheet cut out and hand-beaten into shape. No moulds are used at all. From the rear it is a hollow, concave form of the front. The base is made of pressure treated timber wrapped in lead sheet. It can go outdoors.

Artform: Sculpture

Lead sheet, wire, solder, treated wood base

19cm x 59cm x 33cm

This piece is composed of hand-beaten sheets of lead wired and soldered together to form the bird. The base is made of pressure treated timber wrapped in beaten lead. It can go outdoors.

Artform: Sculpture

Galvanised wire mesh, steel wire
110cm long

Three-dimensional wire sketch of a dog rolling on it''s back. Suitable for outdoors.

Artform: Sculpture

Galvanised steel wire, brass shim, black enamel paint

40cm height

Long-legged birds based on wading birds with elongated limbs and large feet. Worked in soldered wire and painted with black enamel.

Artform: Sculpture