The inspirational Mary’s Lamp group at Balfour School has once again excelled in their fundraising efforts, raising £175 for the Appeal at the school’s Summer Fair. Led by River Isaac, our first Child Ambassador, they sold cakes, badges and pamphlets, ran a netball competition and handed out leaflets – and in a few short hours raised this wonderful amount. The group were ably assisted by…
Our inspirational young Ambassadors have once again triumphed in their fundraising efforts and have made a marvellous donation to the Appeal. River Isaac and her Mary’s Lamp girls’ group at Balfour School have organised a cake sale at the school, ably supported by teachers and parents. Many hours of baking resulted in record sales, with huge numbers of enthusiastic school students involved. The group has…
We are pleased to report that , Jean Calder, our Chair of Trustees, writing in her personal capacity, had a letter published in today’s Times (3rd October 2020) in which she suggested that our sculptor Denise Dutton is considered for the commission of the proposed statue of the late Queen Elizabeth. The letter was written in response to an article by A.N.Wilson who proposed an…
We are proud to announce that the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal now has its first Child Ambassador. She is River Isaac who is 8 years old and in year four at Balfour Primary School in Brighton. We first came across River during lockdown at the height of the pandemic, when she and her mother Paula contacted our chosen sculptor Denise Dutton to ask if she…
Denise Dutton, our wonderful sculptor, has offered to make a very limited edition of duplicate bronze maquettes available to major donors who give £6,000 or more to the Appeal. She has generously offered to do this at cost, so apart from foundry and delivery charges, all profits will go to the Appeal. This is an amazing offer from Denise who is internationally known and in…
Sculptor Denise Dutton has completed and delivered the much anticipated bronze maquette of Mary Clarke, the first suffragette to die for women’s right to vote – and did so in time for Mary’s birthday on 12th December. Cllr Alan Robins, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove received it on behalf of the Appeal and the people of Brighton & Hove in a brief socially-distanced ceremony…
Denise Dutton is in the final stages of completing the bronze maquette or model of the proposed statue of Mary Clarke. The finished wax is at the foundry and, COVID-permitting, the completed bronze should be ready by early December, in time for the anniversary of Mary’s birth on 12th December and of her death on Christmas Day. Our plan is to display the maquette in…
Following months of discussion, research and painstaking work in miniature, our wonderful sculptor Denise Dutton has completed the rough plaster line maquette of Mary. She is now in the process of preparing a resin copy and a mould for the final bronze. Denise has faced many challenges. She has had to work from only 5 photographs, some of which are of poor quality and none…
Our sculptor Denise Dutton is hard at work on the maquette, doing the delicate work on facial features – a challenging task, given we have so few photographs and many of those we do have are of poor quality. One of Mary’s most endearing qualities was her lack of egoism and consequent quiet refusal to promote herself. However, this is causing real difficulties for those wishing…
Our chosen sculptor, Denise Dutton, has begun the early painstaking stages of her work. This will result in a small exact bronze model of what will eventually become the statue. Denise has been researching the clothing women of Mary Clarke’s time would have worn. She is already knowledgeable, because she sculpted the statue of suffragette Annie Kenney in Oldham. She has been working with an…