Rudyard, Lorraine
Associate Member
Biography
Lorraine was born in Manchester and is a self-taught mixed-media sculptor, creating story boxes using wire, papier-mâché, and recycled materials to make three-dimensional figures.
Her work is often very Northern, portraying characters that she may know, or may have been introduced to her by the commissions she has made.
Lorraine uses vintage and local photographs for inspiration and background. More recently, she has been painting some of the backgrounds, exploring Shakespeare, fairy tales, poetry, and making larger sculptures.
Her work is intuitive, it’s colourful, and often humorous.
She has enjoyed hosting many children’s workshops – including two in Denbighshire in North Wales.
In 2022, she was commissioned by ‘Heritage Schools’ to create twelve workshops with local schools, and an exhibition of the work was displayed at Central Library. Lorraine was also commissioned to produce a piece of legacy art for Central Library which is on permanent display . She was then commissioned to create Shakespeare workshops for twelve local schools, the children’s work was also exhibited at Central library.
Lorraine’s work has been selected for many open-call exhibitions, including three at ‘Home’ in Manchester and three works at ‘The Royal Cambrian Academy of Fine Art’. She has also had several solo exhibitions at Central Library, along with the exhibitions for the various school workshops. Lorraine has also enjoyed working on many commissions over the years and many of her works are now in private collections.
Statement
Although I work intuitively, I really enjoy the research side of my work, especially when producing commissions.
A lot of my inspiration comes from my childhood memories, I am inspired by the everyday life from that time, such as the visits to the local butchers, and the doctor’s surgery with my gran. The image of one particular painting in the surgery has stayed with me all my life, which inspired me to create a story box ‘The Doctors Surgery’, I feel the need to record my memories in the art that I create.
I like the idea I can create something from nothing and the found treasures that I include in my stories can live on, connecting my stories to the past.
It is very important for me to be able to continue working with Central Library, hosting school workshops in and around Manchester.
My hope is that viewers will continue to appreciate the playfulness of my work – that it puts a smile on their face, and appeals to their senses for a lost way of life.
If you would like to see more of Lorraine’s work you can find her at –
Manchester Central Library in one of the 1stFloor cabinets
Instagram: @lorrainrudyard_mixedmediaart
Or contact Lorraine via email: lorrainerudyard-art@outlook.com