Ronald Rae’s fifteen tonne granite sculpture Tyger Tyger moved from The Falkirk Wheel to its new home in Somerset on May 15th. The site for the sculpture required 400 metres of tracking across a field to reach the site. This short video shows the expertise of many people to make this happen. Please excuse the sound production at the beginning of this video – the wind was howling with intermittent sleet showers!

The BBC also filmed the Tyger Tyger being moved to Somerset as part of their series called The Crane Gang. It was broadcast on BBC2 on 29th September 2013 at 8pm. You can now see it on YouTube.

Ronald Rae’s Return of the Prodigal sculpture was commissioned by General Accident in 1982 to interpret the company’s motto “I warn and I protect”. The composition of the father and son was inspired by Rembrandt’s painting of The Prodigal Son in The Hermitage, St.Petersburg.

After 30 years of standing on the hill above Perth, Nature has covered the sculpture with lichens adding colour and texture to the stone which greatly excites the sculptor.

In August 2012 Ronald Rae’s Heavy Horse and Foal moved to the Crinan Canal in Argyll where it was on loan to Scottish Canals for three years. It was such a perfect setting for the sculpture – the Heavy Horse and Foal at Lock 14 – there to welcome all the boats that pass through the Canal. However the sculpture has now returned to the Falkirk Wheel to join the Ronald Rae Exhibition of ten sculptures. Open all year – free admission.

The Heavy Horse and Foal took the sculptor over a year to be carve using hand tools only. The granite comes from Aberdeeenshire and has been dated over 460 million years old. For sale.

On Wednesday 15th August 2012 Ronald Rae visited fellow sculptor Alan Thornhill’s exhibition at the Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire. Alan is known for his portrait heads of public figures some in the National Galleries of London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, also a series of expressive bronze sculptures permanently sited beside the River Thames at Putney. Alan who started his artistic life as a potter devised a unique technique of making sculpture which he passed on to his pupils at the Frink School of Sculpture. His retrospective at Stroud features a wonderful collection of bronzes large and small, drawings, paintings and pottery. For more information on Alan Thornhill and his work, many of which are for sale, visit his web site www.alanthornhill.co.uk

On Monday evening 4th June Ronald Rae gave a passionate talk to 36 very enthusiastic Cubs from the 82nd Craigalmond (Cramond) Scout Group. They enjoyed bonding with the Baby Elephant sculpture and climbing on to the Cramond Fish but the highlight was having a lesson on how to carve granite. I believe there are now several budding sculptors in Cramond!

NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND – THREAVE GARDEN welcomes ST.FRANCIS sculpture

On Tuesday 15th May 2012 the NTS – Threave Garden became host to St.Francis one of Ronald Rae’s hand carved granite sculptures to be on loan for a period of time.  Three years later due to the generosity of George and Sue Thomas long-term NTS members St. Francis will now be staying at Threave indefinitely.

Ronald Rae had opened the first Threave Sculpture Garden Exhibition in 2011. He spoke passionately about the potential of displaying larger sculptures at Threave and offered the NTS one of his works on loan. The NTS jumped at this wonderful opportunity. It was agreed that St. Francis would be perfect in this garden setting because of the saint’s love of Nature – birds in particular. Birdsong is the first sound one hears on entering Threave Garden.

It followed that the following year on 23rd June 2012 Kate Mavor, the then Chief Executive of the NTS unveiled Ronald Rae’s St. Francis sculpture and opened the second Threave Garden Sculpture Exhibition in the formal garden at Threave.

George Thomas, from NTS Threave Garden who organised this project said ” I am absolutely delighted to have been involved with Ronald Rae’s incredibly generous gesture of lending St. Francis to Threave Garden. He has chosen a stunning piece entirely in keeping with the site. It undoubtedly creates a unique feature in the garden which will give pleasure to visitors and act as a focus of widespread interest.”

The seven tonne stone for St. Francis is of great geological interest being an amalgam of two different granites – grey and pink – and dark grey basalt. These stones fused together when the Earth was formed. For this particular stone that was 470 million years ago!

More information about St. Francis
This emotive sculpture depicts St. Francis the great follower of Christ, lying in retreat in the mountains, on “that rugged rock twixt Tiber and Arno” as Dante described La Verna. The sculpture shows the saint with the birds that he loved and preached to. Brother Wolf is carved on the other side of the stone. Legend has it that St. Francis saved the village of Gubbio from being ravished of its flocks by persuading the people to feed the fierce hungry wolf. In return for this kindness the wolf became a friend to everyone and a follower of St. Francis and thereafter called Brother Wolf. It is said that on this mountainside St. Francis took on the stigmata – the wounds of Christ. In the sculpture Rae has given Brother Wolf the stigmata. Legend also relates that when St. Francis died Brother Wolf was at his side.

This short video celebrates the third anniversary of Ronald Rae’s Fish being sited on the beach at Cramond. Join the sculptor on a walk along the River Almond to the Cramond estuary and along the foreshore to the Fish.

On Saturday 27th August 2011 Ronald Rae opened the National Trust for Scotland Threave Sculpture Garden in Dumfries and Galloway. The private view was hosted by the NTS in Threave House where George Thomas the project manager for the new Threave Sculpture Garden talked enthusiastically about the benefits of the project and his future plans for the growth of the Sculpture Garden. He then introduced granite sculptor Ronald Rae who spoke passionately about this new venture at Threave which will be an attraction for visitors and add a new dimension to the Gardens, whilst giving talented sculptors an opportunity to have their work in a beautiful setting and in the public eye. Well done NTS!

This permanent exhibition of figurative works by local sculptors including Lucianne Lassalle, Peter Dowden, Dawn Rhodes, Andy Breen and Willie Wight, is ideally sited in the Formal Garden at Threave. The sculptures are for sale. For further details on the sculptors contact Rupinder Dulay, curator at www.nailfactory.org.uk

In this final video of the creation of the Baby Elephant we share the motivation of the sculptor and the joy that the Baby Elephant brought to the families who arrived on the scene just as it was finished.

To see the whole process of making this sculpture from selecting the stone in the quarry to its completion go to the right hand margin and under the heading Latest News on Video click on Ronald Rae returns to carving granite Parts One,Two and Three.

It took Jon Edgar two years to persuade fellow sculptor Ronald Rae to take two days off work and to sit patiently while his head was modelled in clay. Photographer Glyn Satterley recorded the event.
This is one of a series of portrait heads by Jon Edgar featuring well-known British sculptors, art curators,critics and collectors, including Sir Roy Strong, Peter Randall-Page, Alan Thornhill, Wilfred Cass and Peter Murray. To see these portraits and others visit www.jonedgar.co.uk