Chris Bladen

Chris grew up close to nature, fostering his keen interest in the natural world and its workings, with fish, birds and animals always topping the list. At the same time, he was also exposed to art. His dad trained young sculptors in the fine craft of stone carving, focusing on ‘seeing’ anatomical form and structure in the material. Fascinated, Chris started carving fish in wood and stone in his early teens.

After qualifying as a dental technologist and working in this field for a number of years, Chris realised he would rather create bronze wildlife sculptures. With the technical skills he acquired in the dental laboratory it was an easy transition to model highly detailed sculptures with immaculate attention to detail.