Stephen Fry, Steve McQueen, Kate Moss and – soon – Debbie Harry. You’d be forgiven for thinking these lifelike sculptures were made by someone with years of experience in Jesmonite, who had perfected their technique through many trials and improvements. But in fact, while Nic Dutton is an incredibly talented sculptor, he had only recently started working with Jesmonite.
Nic has made incredible eye-catching sculptures of celebrities as some of his trials with the material and here at Jesmonite we think they are amazing. He is a professional sculptor by trade with over 35 years of experience working with clay at Madame Tussauds then later in film industry making sets. After taking a job as a part-time technician at City College in Norwich Nic rediscovered Jesmonite.
“I first used Jesmonite in the 1990s, then revisited it three years ago when a colleague and I were making a mould for a statue of Alan Partridge – we couldn’t use the usual resin we would and didn’t have much space, so we used Jesmonite,” he said.
“Then once I started working at City College in Norwich, I found some stock of Jesmonite, which brought it back into my consciousness and I have been working with it and enjoying it since then.
“I realised how good it is for students to use as it is nontoxic – then when college’s closed during the Coronavirus lockdown I wanted to contribute to college life in any way I could, so I made a sculpture of former student Stephen Fry, along with a training video of how to do it.”
The sculpture was very well received by all who saw it – both online and in person – and is due to go on display in a new college building when it opens. Nic continued to do his own portrait statues to promote his own work too, leading to uncanny sculptures of Steve McQueen, Kate Moss and – soon to be unveiled – Debbie Harry. Nic said: “I have an emotional attachment to polyester, so I didn’t want Jesmonite to be better, but it is. It has won!
“I will be continuing to make other sculptures with it and can take commissions.
“I will be experimenting with metal effects, carving it, and trying different ways to master the seams.
“I am still very new to Jesmonite and getting accustomed to it, I know there are lots of things I can do with it, and I’ll be sharing all my progress online”
Nic has been working with AC100 and AC730 so far. He said the fact it is non-toxic is a ‘gigantic plus’ as Jesmonite is not bad for your skin or the environment. He also enjoys how easy Jesmonite is to work with, adding: “I know there is plenty more I can do, and I will explore that, but it is easy to pick up to start with.
“Another plus point is that it doesn’t shrink, this makes a huge difference to sculpting.”
Nic’s sculptures are for sale in limited number editions, and he is happy to take commissions – you can email him on nicdutton468@gmail.com to order or discuss. To see his progress follow him on social media here