Aran Sisley
I have had a long standing interest in drawing, jewellery making, and in the past 5 years - sculpting. I now spend much of my spare time creating busts and statues in the 1/4 to 1/6 size ranges sculpted from Super Sculpey polymer clay. I work in the film/TV industry sculpting and designing maquettes, miniatures, puppets, props, and sets.
I completed a PhD in Physiology in 2007, but decided to pursue my passion for sculpting rather than scientific research that I had been doing. Over the past 18months I have gained work on two feature films: The Vintner's Luck (directed by Niki Caro) and Under the Mountain (directed by Jonathon King). I have worked on two big budget international commercials, and one US TV series. I have sculpted 'hero' props, polystyrene sets, maquettes, puppets, and miniature models. I have also worked as an Art Department Runner and assisted in a variety of propmaking jobs including painting, aging, and weathering of props.
- Small scale sculpture: polymer clays, armature, baking, finishing
- Wax carving/sculpting
- Box moulds (silicone rubber)
- Matrix moulds (silicone rubber with plaster mother moulds)
- Casting resins and plaster
- Polystyrene carving
- Pencil drawing
- Jewellery design and fabrication
Science:
1997-1999: BSc in Biology/Physiology, at The University of Auckland.
2000: BSc Honours (First Class) in Physiology, at The University of Auckland.
2001-2007: PhD in Physiology, at The University of Auckland.
Art:
I have no formal artistic education other than a two day course in jewellery that I did at a place called Workshop 6, in Kingsland, Auckland. This course taught the basics of making a ring (one in silver and one in copper) and a broach (one in silver and one in copper) . From there I talked to people, read books, and searched online to find information to teach myself more about making jewellery.
I believe that a formal artistic education is not necessary to become an accomplished artistisan. With the advent of the internet as a conduit of information almost everything you get taught in a formal course can now be found online. The only difference being that you must learn from text and pictures rather than from actual hands-on demonstrations. This can result in longer learning times and more mistakes, but this route also creates a wealth of accumulated experience as a beginner teaches themself, with a certain amount of trial and error, how to create in new ways and with new mediums. I encourage all people with an interest in creating objects of art to research their chosen field and not to be afraid to give things a go without any formal artistic training. I like to think that my works speak for themselves with regards to my skill level.
BSc (Biology/Physiology)
BSc Honours (Physiology)
PhD (Physiology)
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
2009
- Props Assistant on a new
American television series. Working for Roger Murray at Main Reactor.
Assembling, painting, and finishing of props. (March 2009)
- Creature
sculptor, modelmaker, painter, and fur applicator for Glasshammer Visual Effects on a big brandname television commercial destined for
the European market. (January/February 2009)
2008
- Polystyrene Sculptor/Carver
on a big budget international commercial produced by The Sweetshop. Worked directly for Kate Lang (Head Polystyrene Sculptor/Carver) and
Grant Major (Production Designer/Art Director). (November/December 2008)
- Sculptor/”Fabricator” on
“Under the Mountain” (Redhead Films Ltd.). Worked for Ralph Davies (New Production Designer), Jonathon King
(Director), and Shayne Radford (Lead Fabricator). After renfinancing I was
brought back onto this film for 7 weeks, during which I first sculpted an interior for a car and a maquette of a house interior for approval by
the director. I then spent a number of weeks carving the lifesize set in
polystyrene as part of a team of “fabricators”. (August/September 2008)
- Sculptor on “Under the Mountain” (Redhead Films Ltd.). Worked for Kim Sinclair (Production Designer) and Jonathon King
(Director). On this film I was employed to sculpt a prototype of an important
‘hero’ prop. (March/April 2008)
- Art Department runner
and prop sculptor on “The Vintner’s Luck” (Ascension Films Ltd.). Worked for Grant Major (Production Designer) and Kate Highfield (Art Department
Manager). On this film, in addition to the usual tasks of a runner I also
sculpted an important ‘hero’ prop and used my Photoshop experience to create
mock-ups of certain scenes for Grant Major. (January/February 2008)
- Currently working on a
bronze relief plaque commission for a large property development in West Auckland.
- Freelance sculpting and
selling of resin castings (“garage kits”) in between film industry jobs and
sculptural commissions.
- 2003-2004 University of Auckland Tutor (Part-time)
Stage I Biology for Biomedical Science - 2002-2003 University of Auckland Laboratory Demonstrator (Part-time)
Stage II Human Biology Structure and Function - 2001-2003 University of Auckland Laboratory Demonstrator (Part-time)
Stage I Biology for Biomedical Science - 1998-2000 James Pascoes Ltd. Sales Person (Part-time)
- Cash handling experience
- Customer service
- Jewellery and watch sales and support
- Sculpted and painted the prototype of the most important prop in the film "Under the Mountain" (Directed by Jonathon King). Not yet released.
- Invited by Richard Taylor to spend a week at Weta Workshop (July 2007) in the sculpting room with Weta's in-house sculptors.
- Winner of the Shool of Media and Design Sculpture competition at Armageddon Pop Culture Expo, October 2005, Auckland. The King of the Dead bust in my showcase was my entry.
Please contact me for film and television references.
Email:
arannz@yahoo.co.nz
Member Profile
Aran SisleyI am a freelance sculptor working in the New Zealand film, television,
and advertising industry. I predominantly work in clay, but am also
skilled in wax sculpture, polystyrene carving, jewellery making, and
modelmaking. My preferred scales to work in are 1/4 to 1/6, but I can
work in any scale.I sculpt design maquettes, prototypes, props, and sets.
