Labour of love for artist Liisa

The Doubletree by Hilton at stadium:mk will see a gathering of the new city’s business community for the annual Milton Keynes & North Bucks Chamber of Commerce event.

The category and overall winners will take away a unique sculpture designed by artist Liisa Clark, of Abstrakt. She works in Lanercost Crescent, Monkston, Milton Keynes.

Liisa has worked with chamber chief executive Rita Spada for the last five years, designing awards which symbolise boldness, strength and courage, power and vision as well as protection.

Liisa said: “This imagery is something that applies to our wonderful city Milton Keynes.

“I am extremely proud and honoured to be asked each year to be involved with such an important project.

“It is not just about creating a beautiful piece of artwork; it is about creating something that will inspire people, while also acknowledging all of the hard work that people do in our city.”

This year is the second sculpture in a triptych based on the all powerful gryphon, a mythological combination of both the king of beasts, the lion and the king of the birds, the eagle.

Liisa said: “Not only does it have to convey the right message, but you have to bear in mind how important the award is going to be to the winner.

“I then create a single master sculpture in clay. This may take anything from a few weeks to a few months depending on how happy I am with the overall look. I remember one year I made almost 15 different sets of wings as I just was not happy with the overall look and they sat on the body and how they held themselves. They needed to be majestic, and with patience and lots of experimenting I created a set of wings I was extremely happy with.”

The whole process takes a few months from start to finish. Liisa added: “I always feel so much pride when I see the faces of the winners when they are presented with their awards. Months of hard work are brought to a wonderful conclusion when the award is placed in the winners hands.”

See Liisa’s work at www.abstraktstudio.co.uk