Fiona Peever facts for kids

Fiona Peever, born Fiona Winkler in 1964, is a talented British sculptor. She lives and works in Oxfordshire, England. Fiona works with her husband, Alec Peever, who is also a sculptor. Together, they run a studio called Lettering and Sculpture Limited.

Fiona is known for carving sculptures from stone and other materials. She creates art for public spaces, schools, churches, and private clients. One of her most famous works is the sculpture of Thomas Attwood in Birmingham, made in 1993 with artist Sioban Coppinger. This statue is special because it looks like Thomas Attwood has stepped off his platform to sit on the steps, reading his notes.

Fiona's Early Life and Education

Fiona Leonora H. Winkler was born in Richmond, London, in 1964. Her family has a long history in London. Her great-great-grandparents, Charles Hargrave and Eliza Goymer, lived there. Charles worked as a foreman for a railway company for many years.

Fiona's grandparents were Ernest Oscar Winkler-Haase and Dorothy Marguerite Hargrave. They got married in 1914. Fiona's parents, John H. Winkler and Christine D. Willis, married in 1954.

Fiona started working with Alec Peever in 1983. They got married in 1985. She studied art at the City and Guilds of London Art School, graduating in 1984.

Fiona Peever's Career as a Sculptor

Since 2008, Fiona Peever and her husband Alec have run their studio, Lettering & Sculpture Limited, in Ducklington, Oxfordshire. Fiona became a director of the company in 2015.

Fiona often works with Alec and other artists. She is very good at creating public art, which means art made for everyone to see in public places. This includes large sculptures, stone carving, and adding letters to stone. She uses both old and new art methods.

Fiona uses many different materials for her sculptures. These include wood, steel, and bronze, as well as various types of stone like slate and marble. She also specializes in carving for buildings, and she has made memorials for churches and graveyards.

Her work also includes "poetry trails" and art installations. She creates beautiful garden and water features, many of which are public artworks. Fiona and Alec have shown their art in many exhibitions and have won several awards for their work.

Notable Artworks by Fiona Peever

Fiona Peever has created many amazing sculptures. Here are a few examples of her work, often made with Alec or other artists.

The Thomas Attwood Sculpture, 1993

This famous sculpture is in Chamberlain Square in Birmingham. Its full name is Thomas Attwood 1783–1856, Birmingham's first Member of Parliament. Fiona Peever worked with Sioban Coppinger on this piece.

The sculpture shows Thomas Attwood, a key figure who helped create the Reform Act of 1832. Instead of standing on a high platform, the bronze statue of Attwood appears to have stepped down. He is sitting on the steps of an amphitheater, looking like he is still working. The steps have words carved into them: "prosperity," "the vote," and "reform." His scattered notes are titled: Votes for All, Full Employment, and Free Trade. People say the sculpture shows the important ideas Attwood believed in.

The sculpture was moved in 2015 to keep it safe when the Birmingham Central Library was torn down. It will return to its spot once construction work is finished in the area.

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  Thomas Attwood, 1993: "Having left his plinth ...

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  ... and having scattered his bronze pages on the steps ...

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  ... the statue sits ..."

Royal Parks Waymarkers, 2000

These are special stone and metal markers found on the ground in London. They help guide visitors along the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk. Fiona created these markers with Alec Peever.

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  Waymarkers: at The Mall, London 2000 –

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  – at Green Park, 2000 –

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  – and at St James's Park, 2000

Bodleian Library Grotesques, 2007–2009

This project at the Bodleian Library in Oxford was very unique. It started with a competition where children designed grotesque carvings. These designs were used to replace old, worn-out carvings on the library building.

Fiona and Alec Peever turned the children's drawings into stone carvings. These new carvings were then placed high up on the library's cornice (a decorative ledge). There are nine winning designs, including a Wild boar, a Dodo, and characters from J. R. R. Tolkien.

Isobel Hughes, who works to preserve buildings at the University of Oxford, said that these grotesques will be seen for hundreds of years. She hoped the children who designed them would bring their own children and grandchildren to see them. In 2010, Fiona and Alec received an award for their work on these grotesques.

Architectural Sculpture, Highgate Junior School, 2016

In 2016, Fiona and Alec created sculptures for the new Junior department of Highgate School in London. This building was designed with Portland stone.

Their sculptures for the school included a chameleon, a centipede, and gargoyles. These designs were chosen to be fun and suitable for children. They also created a painted glass window screen for the school.