A Cumbrian sculptor’s latest work has been unveiled at a university campus.
Doggy, by renowned artist and St Martin’s College alumnus Shawn Williamson, has been installed at the University of Cumbria’s Lancaster campus.
The new sculpture is next to two small dog graves, which date back to when the campus was a military base for the King’s Own Royal Regiment.
The new sculpture is on the lawn in front of College Main which used to be the officers’ mess.
Sculpted from Bath limestone, Doggy is a statement about how humans interact with animals and the joy they bring into our lives.
Shawn added: “I always had dogs; Irish, Lakeland Terriers, and once an Airedale. The doggy sculpture is based on these type of box headed cheeky terriers commonly seen in the north of England which happen to have great lines to sculpt.”
Shawn, who studied art and design and English at St Martin’s College, has had several international commissions including a sculpture of Piloto Pardo on London’s embankment and a carved stone depicting a miner as part of a sculpture trail at Wallyford, East Lothian.
During his time as a student, Shawn was commissioned by the Alumni Association to create St Martin and the Beggar, depicting the biblical text of the Roman officer giving a beggar his cloak, who turned out to be Jesus, reinforcing the themes of giving and charity. The stone sculpture still sits on the university campus today.
Another of Shawn’s sculptures, Red Torso, has recently been relocated due to ongoing building works as part of the university’s Lancaster Masterplan.
Built with St Bees stone, it is a modern take on Greco Roman sculpture where the torso itself became the art form. Commissioned by then principal, Dorian Edynbry, he was keen to show student’s art works in the grounds.
Shawn said: “The campus means a lot to me. I have worked at Lancaster University and Manchester College, but the University of Cumbria is like the flagship of the three as I studied there as an undergraduate. To do a degree at the time was a big achievement for folk who had to work as well.”
Recently completing several works, Shawn is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, based at Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa near Ambleside as their resident sculptor.
Shawn’s work can be seen all around Cumbria, notably the sculpted stone outside the Armitt Museum and Library in Ambleside.
Made from stone from Kirkstone Quarry, it records the names of those who have contributed to the museum’s collections.
Another work, the 12-ton Herdwick Ram, stands at the entrance way to Cockermouth Business Park. It was unveiled by the then Prince Charles.
He is also responsible for the Maundylion in Workington, at the crossroads of Vulcan’s Lane and Oxford Street. It was erected by Workington Town Council in 2002 to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Shawn was taught by international sculptor Josefina de Vasconcellos MBE who lived in Langdale, Cumbria. As a young woman she had studied under Antoine Bourdelle who had been assistant sculptor to the great French sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Shawn is continuing his residency and has recently finished work on his mentor’s unfinished piece Mr Valiant for Truth by Josefina de Vasconcellos, which is now in the gardens at Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa.
