A keen animal lover, Cynara started drawing horses from a young age and always loved making animals out of play dough as a child. 'It was at school that I first became involved in ceramics.
I was really drawn to clay because i find it so amenable - it's like painting in 3D!' Again it was horses that Cynara first turned to. 'I started out sculpting horse heads, but when I got my Pomeranian puppy, Bella I loved her expressions and character - she was perfect for my art!' With Bella as her willing subject, Cynara has created a collection of fantastically animated sculptures that display a range of fluid movements and lively facial expressions.
She works loosely from photographs, but likes to keep the sculpting process free and organic so that each piece carries great movement and individuality. 'I'm more concerned that the Sculptures capture the expression and movement of the dogs rather than that they be anatomically correct. I used to create ink drawing to start with, or sometimes I even use the clay itself as an initial 3D drawing then the pieces are fired and re-fired to get just the right texture and colour.'
For the finishing touch, different oxides and stains are used to make each sculpture individual, and each dog is even given its own name! In the future Cynara hopes to set up her own studio where she can continue working with her two loves - clay and animals. 'I've got a really strong bond with horses so I hope to work with them again seen. I'm a bit of a home bird at heart so I don't want to move too far from my friends and family - and my pets of course!'