The Year of the Rabbit has particular significance for Victoria-based sculptor and artist David Hunwick. He uses the British hare as a recurring motif in his work, such as in the piece Dreams Can Come True on display at the Studio 106 gallery in James Bay.
‘The hare has been used in a lot of medieval artwork and has a direct link to my experience when I grew up in Kent, in the countryside. I was also born under the Chinese sign of the rabbit, so it’s in a way a personification of myself,” Hunwick said in a statement.
Dreams Can Come True, which stands out with its gleaming bronze hare and blue patina, depicts the “moments when our hopes and aspirations haven’t worked out and lie dormant, yet you come to a place where you start to believe again and those old dreams that seem to be forgotten are rekindled and you breathe new life into them again,” Hunwick explained. The sculpture is of a hare jumping over the moon, depicting transcendence and “taking that leap of faith.”
Hunwick will be helping others take a leap of faith into the world of sculpting at an annual upcoming Sculpt Italy Summer School program located in the historic town of Pietrasanta, north of Tuscany.
Since 2013, Hunwick has been involved with the summer sculpting school and co-teaching with Italian maestro Gabriele Vicari.
“We have the privilege of sculpting in the renowned studio of famed sculptors Leone and Marcello Tommasi. The class focuses on sculpting in the traditional Italian tradition and experiencing the beauty and simplicity of creating with the same approach as the Renaissance masters. We will also visit Florence and the museums there, as well as local bronze foundries and marble ateliers,” Hunwick said in a statement.
The workshop this year is titled ‘Sculpting the Female Figure.’ It will involve 42 hours of personalized instruction with Hunwick and Vicari and a behind-the-scenes look at marble carving ateliers and the lost wax bronze casting. The course runs from July 1 to 11 and also includes an overnight stay in Florence. Registration closes on May 15 and the cost is $4,750 for sculpting participants and $2,550 for non-sculpting partners.
Hunwick is no stranger to teaching as he has hosted a number of workshops and taught at Brentwood College School for the past eight years, coinciding with his work as an artist.
Hunwick’s chosen subjects vary from wildlife to the human form, he said in a statement. His work has been displayed at the Sooke and Sidney fine art shows as well as other locations such as the Union Club of British Columbia and the Chateau Victoria Hotel and Suites. Victoria is scattered with gems of his work. Passing through Oak Bay, one would see a heart-shaped, whale-bone sculpture gracing the welcome sign, for instance. This piece of his, entitled Rebirth, is among others around B.C., such as the Eye of the Ocean in Sidney, part of a large repertoire of works that give character to the community.
Hunwick hopes that many established and aspiring sculptors will join him at the summer school this year or in the future. For more information about the Sculpt Italy trip visit studio106.ca/sculpt-in-italy, or Hunwick’s personal website at davidhunwick.com.
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