Meg was taught to sculpt by artist and puppet-maker Guy Richardson in the 1970s when she was his unofficial apprentice. Guy sadly died in 2020 at the age of 89 and is much missed. An obituary she wrote for him can be found here:
https://www.nutmegpuppet.co.uk/sad-news-of-death-of-guy-richardson/
Meg has worked with clay and latex, papier-mache and wood, textiles, junk, and a great variety of other materials. After years of making puppets for her own shows as Nutmeg Puppet Company, and running puppet workshops, she has been concentrating since 2015 on making work for sculpture trails.
Though there are similarities between the art forms, there is a great difference in intention. Meg’s puppets were made to tell stories. They had a dynamic life of their own and a relationship with the puppeteers on stage, were never for sale or display but earned their living by performing.
Pip and Tomtit 2003
Sculptures on the other hand are made to be displayed, and if possible sold. Once created they have little or no relationship with their maker, which is hard for a puppet maker to accept.
Ivy Ascending 2019
Initially working with natural materials and papier-mache, Meg began by developing ideas that came from leading family workshops.
Her work is made to reflect the place where it will be exhibited (a little grove beside a river; an exquisite hornbeam tree; a bramble thicket). She inhabits the place with hyper-real insects and animals, and tree spirits or dryads. She is inspired by classical mythology and European folk tales, and explores the inner qualities and symbolism of trees. Her latest work also draws on personal experience.
In 2019, searching for more durable materials, she was taught Renaissance bronze casting by Jim Racine at Butley Mills, Suffolk. She produced her first bronze there, and continues to learn from him. She has also been experimenting with silicone mould-making and Jesmonite.
http://www.instagram.com/jimracinebronze