MY COUNTRY BUSINESS
SCULPTOR AND DESIGNER EVE O’NEILL
Eve O’neill makes clay dog figurines from her garden studio
Even as a child I was obsessed with dogs and used to make tiny models out of Plasticine,’ says artist Eve O’neill. I have always made things.’ It was in her late 20s, when she went to Camberwell College of Arts to do a painting course, that her work became more refined and turned from hobby to career. As soon as she finished her studies in 2005, she upped and left London for a new life in Ceredigion.
‘My mum had always taken me to green spaces such as Epping and Richmond Park when I was young, so being in these places had always made me think I might move to the country at some point,’ explains Eve.
She started her Welsh adventure in a tiny caravan on a farm near Aberaeron. ‘I loved living there; being surrounded by hills, just me, my two cats and a record player.’
The change of scene inspired her to incorporate the surrounding nature into her work. Initially, Eve started out needle-felting figures, including hares, foxes, mushrooms and birds, which she sold for many years through her Facebook page and country fairs. They inspired a cult following for their realism and character – many were presented as ‘faux taxidermy’, displayed in lifelike settings within glass domes as a nod to Victorian naturalists.
It was when she moved to Cardigan in
2015 that she started to model dogs. ‘I was ready for a change of medium and needed a new direction,’ she says. ‘I’ve always loved sighthounds – these dogs are characterised by their gentle character and elegance, traditionally hunting by sight and speed, rather than strength and endurance as other breeds do. I began to sculpt them out of paper clay.’ Paper clay is a clay that is mixed with shredded paper or other fibres. This strong and versatile clay is also lightweight, and it’s perfect for building ceramics of any size.
Pleased with the results, Eve started painting her sculptures to give them different markings and features. As her ideas built momentum, she needed more space and natural light to work in. ‘We had a shed at the bottom of the garden, which had been built by the previous owner,’ says Eve. ‘It was perfect; big enough to work in and store all my materials. The only problems were the lack of light and keeping it warm during the colder months.’
She added salvaged windows at the front and along the back wall, including gorgeous >
stained glass panels that fill the room with shafts of coloured light. She was also thrilled to find a woodburner in the salvage yard around the corner. Old tongue-and-groove panelling and doors found in skips were added to the walls and insulated with wool to keep it cosy. ‘Now I have a comfortable place to work, with a big farmhouse table making it easy to set out all my materials,’ she says.
Eve starts work after a morning walk with her cavalier cross poodle, Willow, when the studio’s woodburner has warmed up the workspace. The day is spent researching and sketching hounds, then setting to work with the paper clay. She starts with the head, which she dries on the woodburner, then builds on the body. Next, she makes stands for the dogs – the unpainted ones are usually made from casts of picture frame mouldings. The painted hound stands are usually flat and rectangular, with Bloomsbury Set-inspired designs around the edge.
Eve is always on the lookout for inspiration for her work, trawling local house clearance warehouses for Staffordshire dogs and figurines, or antique mirrors and frames to cast for the stands. You’ll also often find her at Netpool, a small local fishing harbour, mudlarking with Willow for broken plates and bottles, and collecting driftwood to use as fuel for the studio woodburner.
‘The most crucial thing I’ve learnt about my business is that my sculptures take time and patience to make, especially when completing commissions of people’s beloved dogs as they know their pets so well,’ says
Eve. ‘They have to be as close a likeness as possible. This can take a lot of time and it’s important to make sure my clients are aware of that and build it into my fee.’
Much of the interest in her work has come through Instagram, with the bestsellers being the painted hounds, and she’s made friends with many of her clients who spread the word about her work. In the summer she’s considering opening up her studio to the public, while another idea is to have a pop-up gallery in town around the same time. She’s also working on potato prints of sighthounds, turning them into cards and framed prints, which she’ll sell on Instagram and at galleries.
‘Living and working in Cardigan has opened up a whole new world for me, with many great characterful friends including like-minded artists, scriptwriters and poets,’ she says. ‘Although I do miss the diverse culture of London where I was brought up, I love to come home and gaze on the view of the estuary from my studio windows. I always feel so lucky.’
Eve’s dog Willow keeps her company while sketching for her commissions