Mary Anstee-Parry MRSS

I studied sculpture at the Norwich School of Art and Design and later went to the City and Guilds of London art school and have since been made a notable alumni. This sculptural career has given me the opportunity to take on commissions both in lettering and sculpture. I have taught traditional woodcarving and letter carving both at colleges and privately. I have worked with Guildford Borough Council carving two signposts to highlight two areas of Special scientific interest on the River Wey. An Epiphany Madonna for St. Edmundsbury Cathedral and a Millennium sculpture trail for a National Nature Reserve are two other memorable commissions.

In the past I have worked primarily as a carver in stone and wood and for the last two years I have worked on a series of very traditional oak panels for a private client but In the gaps of time between working on these commissions and as antidote to this extensive carving of wood I have experimented with more ephemeral materials such as copper, fabric and paper.

Recent work

2021 - 2024

Rip it up and start again - has been constructed primarily from repurposed drawings and materials.   I have incorporated an old gessoed panel which was, in the beginning, an experiment in sgraffito, gessoing and water gilding  As it has become important for me not to have too much reverence for my work I cut it up and to embellish I have added the skateboard wheels to give a feeling of speed and flight to the ‘sails’.

Would you like to come to my party? - evolved from a theme I began 25 years ago in Absence of my Beloveds which was centred on a feeling of disconnection and loss of the presence of family ties. This sculpture celebrates a new connection and joy.  Again I have re-used old drawings, folding them into coronets and, extending the feeling of frivolity, I have added the detail of folded up covid passes attached to the coronets. (The title was taken from a wooden tablet found in an archaeological site at Vindolanda near Hadrian's Wall).

Covid concept - is a memorial to the pandemic which takes the form of a hammock, sunshade, deckchairs and cushions to highlight the enforced indolence of the lockdowns. For those not seriously ill it was a breather from the fast pace of life, extra time spent with the family but for others it was a period of isolation. It is a record of the images of the pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and a post pandemic time highlighting the way our lives have been changed. These images were sent to me from all over the world by family, friends and strangers and were then printed onto fabric and sewn together by myself which was indeed a learning curve. For all the help I received with the image gathering I am extremely, extremely grateful.

Red dancing shoes - Made from gathered pieces of birch bark, hand stitched and dyed red and in place of a buckle I have sewn on a button made from snipped up pieces of nescafe azera tins to highlight materials which we so thoughtlessly throw away.

Inscription  - A recent letter carving commission for the Sir David Samworth Cricket Pavilion at Uppingham School and hand carved in oak. The clients were quite prescriptive on the font and it's size which is quite unusual but I think this was because it had to fit into an existing space.

Older work 

Making a Beeline - is a carved sandstone sculpture shown here at Broomhill sculpture park in 2021. I have incorporated a visual pun here as I have used the image of a rolled up cigarette which could help fumigate the hive when lit underneath which helped with the prevention of the varroa mite. Nicotine, in the form of the plant Nicotiana, can also be used by bumblebees to protect themselves as it contain micro bacterial properties.

St. Catherine’s Way marker - was a large hand carved sign to denote a Site of Special Scientific Interest situated at the side of the River Way. I worked with Guildford Borough Council with material taken form an old ordnance survey map and a poem which contained too many words for the given space. A happy occurrence as it gave me leeway to play around with the size of the text.

Font Cover for St. Mary’s Weston in Lincolnshire and hand carved in oak. Carved to celebrate the Millenium for the parish of Weston in Lincolnshire.