This month, we're chatting with Tuesday EVE student Bethany Hoyt as a part of our student profile series. Bethany, what brought you to Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School?

Back in June of 2024 a friend from work (Simon Pursell) told me about this 3 week life modelling course with Monika Scarrabelotti he thought I would enjoy. I signed up, was instantly hooked and have been attending regular term classes ever since. I’ve always done creative things but I’d never tried sculpting before and I didn’t have any experience with the studio environment so coming into Tom Bass was eye opening. There’s something really special about a creative community, the mix of regulars and new people, a well catered mid-class tea break and access to feedback, technical support and many fresh sets of eyes from some very genuinely talented people.

What do you do when you’re not sculpting?

I’m currently taking a bit of a sabbatical, but I have a background in Biomedical and Mechatronic engineering and was working as an R&D engineer for a surgical robotics start up. If I’m not working or sculpting I’m either travelling, hiking, camping or indulging in one of my million other hobbies. Take your pick from: sewing, knitting, ceramics, printmaking, netball, baking, film photography, salsa dancing, singing sea shanties and most recently I’ve started bead weaving and joined my local lapidary club!

Are there any sculptors, artists, or exhibitions that have particularly inspired you?

So many! For sculptors I really enjoy Alexander Calder, especially his mobiles, as well as Noguchi and Henry Moore. Outside of sculpting, Laura Boswell is an amazing printmaker in Scotland who does very painterly large scale landscape linocuts. I also really like Larissa Warren’s work with inlaid wild clay and slipcast porcelain. Additional special mentions to Jessie Traill (Ti-tree Frieze), Yasmin Helena Smith, Juz Kitson, Ruth Ju-shih Li and Evan Shipard.

What's been one of your favourite pieces that you've made, and what was the background behind it?

For most of last year I was working on a sculpture of a forest of Moreton Bay fig trees (pictured top right, bottom right). If you’ve ever seen these massive trees with their tangle of roots and expansive canopy you’ll know that they’re magical, otherworldly and almost sculptures in their own right. The way the roots and branches split and merge back into each other make such interesting shapes. It feels like people hardly ever sculpt trees and so I wanted to do something different and make them the focus. I was inspired by the trees in the domain and on the UNSW campus where I studied as well as fig tree bonsais. It was potentially a little ambitious! Armatures installed halfway through after a collapse, more undercuts than you can poke a stick at and 6 internal voids between the trunks as part of a two part mould. The struggle definitely made the end result more satisfying and I’m super happy with how it turned out!

Finally, tell us about what you’re working on currently…

I am currently sculpting a bust made of fabric (pictured bottom left). Instead of the traditional fabric draped over a form underneath I wanted to use the fabric to create the features and I made my original maquette by pinning and draping fabric on a padded styrofoam ball. It’s a nod to the challenge of drapery but seeing how far I could push the medium. I also have a couple of stone works on the go, abstract alabaster pieces inspired by the burls of Sydney red gums and an unfinished marble head (pictured bottom middle) I started under Usama Alnassar in Carrara last September that is sitting at home and waiting for me to tackle the last 10%.

Thanks for chatting with us Bethany! Our student profiles have been great way to learn more about everyone's inspirations, backgrounds, and works, so please get in touch if you'd like to be featured!