I could never have dared hope that I would find a medium of such apparently universal appeal; the popularity of my sculpture has exceeded my dreams by miles. It is hard to imagine that anyone visiting the Eden Project can fail to be struck by the work of Heather Jansch. Her life-size sculpture, now known as the Eden Horse, is typical of the almost magical way in which she conjures a seemingly living thing from what is still clearly a collection of driftwood. How to fix it together is an ongoing challenge because there is no universal answer other than lateral thought. Most of all I like to find solutions close to hand from what is just lying about the place. Heather's work is not confined to horses however, nor indeed to sculpture. She is also a very accomplished draftswoman and painter. The Dancers, Warriors and Junkyard Angels appeared as a result of her habit of looking in skips and searching through old farmyards. I forget now exactly what it was, something rusty, a chain perhaps or discarded mangled garden implement, but anyway somehow I felt that rust and driftwood were natural companions. It started a whole new direction in my work. In my opinion the most vital aspect of an artist's life is the evolution of the work. It should be a constant process of discovery; the very moment it becomes formulaic the work is dead and without content. Her work certainly escapes the dead and formulaic and her understanding of shape and form is clearly based on first hand experience. My beautiful black Arabians and the wild valley where I live remain a huge influence on my work. Each day I am blessed to be spellbound by the timeless peace of my woodland surrounded by birdsong and the voice of the stream. It is very easy in such places to be still and let one's spirit soar It is my sanctuary and a very necessary retreat from the business of exhibitions and the increasingly high profile that has come in the last few years.
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Heather Jansch