Photographing Sculptor Rebecca Gilling at Wick Farm, Curry Rivel

When sculptor and decorative plasterer Rebecca Gilling took up a residency near Langport, she got in touch to have her and her project photographed on site. It made for a fascinating shoot, and gave us a chance to learn more about a genuinely rare craft.

Who is Rebecca Gilling?

Rebecca Gilling, also known online as Becky Gilling, is a sculptor and artisan plasterer based near Ivybridge in South Devon, working under the name Rebecca Gilling Sculpture and Design. She creates bespoke sculptural and decorative work in lime, clay, cob, and earth, ranging from permanent architectural relief pieces to standalone panels for private collectors and large scale land art.

Her work sits at the meeting point of fine art and traditional building craft, drawing on centuries old techniques to create pieces for significant buildings and historic interiors, including the kind of ornate ceiling and wall work once found in grand rooms and churches.

Training and background

Rebecca’s route into decorative plasterwork has been anything but conventional. She trained in modelmaking at the Arts University Bournemouth, then spent nine years working as a prop maker in the events industry before turning to heritage crafts.

From there she built a remarkably broad skill set: the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme, an apprenticeship in traditional Japanese plastering, studies in figurative sculpture at the Florence Academy of Art, and specialist training in Moroccan plasterwork. That combination of prop making precision, fine art training, and heritage craftsmanship is what gives her plasterwork its distinctive character.

She has also shared her knowledge more widely, teaching plaster sculpture and relief workshops, including sessions for New Age Artisans in Montana, and has built a strong following for her work online.

Photographing her residency near Langport

I was approached by Rebecca, who was working on a residency at Wick Farm, Curry Rivel, near Langport, to photograph her at work there for her portfolio.

Knowing her background in sculpture and decorative lime plasterwork, and the sheer range of traditional techniques she draws on, made the session all the more interesting. I spent a couple of hours photographing her at work on some pieces, capturing the process as much as the finished detail. The shoot went well, and we managed to document some of the intricate work that she had produced.

https://www.rebeccagilling.co.uk