'Kaleidoscope of Large Blue Butterflies'

The enigmatic, rare ‘large blue butterfly’ was pronounced extinct in the UK in 1979. A large scale conservation program and some innovative research and science studies have bought these beautiful butterflies back to the UK. Their reintroduction and continual management means they can now be found and thriving at 33 sites across the South West.

And all due to a particular species of red ant and significant conservation efforts and land management at these special sites.

The adult large Blue female has a life span of 5-7 days and in this time mates and lays small white eggs on the flowers of wild thyme or marjoram, from these eggs, small light brown caterpillars emerge and eat the flower head and seeds for the first few weeks of their lives.

Down below these plants the workers of the red ant Myrmica Sabuleti are busy bringing back food for their young which are meticulously cared for, safe for now in their underground nests.

After a few weeks the caterpillar, falls to the ground and lies in wait for the red ants. the Caterpillar tricks the red ant into believing its one off their own young escaped from the nest. They distort their bodies and release a unique, sweet smelling pheromone making the ant believe that it’s one off its own larvae. The imposter is gathered by the ant and taken back into the nest into the brooding chamber. The disguised caterpillar is cared for by the worker ants happily surrounded by its new source of food. The caterpillar picks of the largest larvae first and cleverly knows to wait patiently for the smaller eggs to hatch and the larvae to grow before consuming them.

This unique phenomena is known as social parasitism and is often seen in many wasp, bee and ant species, where one species is reliant on another to survive.

Hidden in plain sight and after several months of eating its ant siblings. it forms its chrysalis and several months later emerges from underground as a beautiful Large Blue Butterfly.

It took years of studies by Professor Jeremy Thomas to figure out the complex balance between short grassland, a single species of red ant and the large blue butterfly. The reason the butterflies became extinct was due to longer grassland. After rabbit numbers in the 70’s became decimated by myxomatosis and changes in human agriculture. It became apparent management of the grass was integral to the ant thriving and the caterpillar being found.

Also olny one type of red ant could be fooled by the caterpillars. Caterpillars taken by other ants in the species would soon be found out and consumed by the nest.

This balance was integral to the unknowing Myrmica Sabuleti ants finding and raising the large blue butterflies.

'Swallows' Commission

My latest Commission ‘Swallows’, is now completed and hanging in its new home.

I worked very closely with my client on this one to achieve a perfect size, palette match and finish, to make it fit seamlessly into her beautiful interior.

After an initial meeting at my studio, looking through a portfolio of my work, to discuss the colour palette and possible design options. My client sent me images of the space, we discussed the size and I worked a design into her specifications. She worked very closely with me, as I really wanted to capture her ideas.

I created initial sketches which you can see developing in the images.

Then my client supplied me with swatches of colour to match into the design, to really make it part of the space. It’s always a joy to work closely with clients and designers, to capture what they want. I really love the challenge of bringing peoples concepts to life and creating pieces that will bring so much future joy.

To enquire about commissioning a piece, feel free to Contact me

Resilience

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about the word ‘resilience’. In my life I’ve been going through a time of unravelling that has caused me to dig deep into a place of strength. It’s a space inside me that I never thought I would visit again.

I’ve been working through these experiences and, as I have, one word keeps coming up and being repeated to me as to how I’m dealing with these changes in my journey through life, that word is ‘resilience’.

I’ve been reflecting on the symbolism of the word and it’s meaning within my art form. I’ve been letting my creative mind express my feelings about the word resilience and I’ve been thinking about the connection of our individual human experience to that of nature.

We share that resilient connection with nature because we are part of nature. We have become so disconnected, but we share the strength to pushback against adversity, we continue through hardship to find our inner strength when we thought it was all lost. Like a small vine that grows over a wall or a flower that pushes through the crack in concrete.

‘Copper Vines’ is the first piece I have completed in what I hope will be a new collection reflecting on these thoughts. I wanted to take some time with my more abstract practice to-express how nature pushes back. How nature will push through the cracks of our world. How full of resilience nature is and in turn how resilient we are. We need to find a way of working together with nature, even in small moments, to have hope. We need to be resilient together. It’s what is in us and all around us, it’s a universal connection.

“Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive”.

The Marsh Fritillary

Exciting news here in North Devon, as there’s been a siting of a very rare, beautiful butterfly, the ‘Marsh fritillary’. This fritillary butterfly is scarce through the whole of Europe but has not been seen in this part of North Devon for over 50 years. So of course my latest piece is a celebration of the Marsh Fritillary, gilded entirely in 24kt gold leaf…

I couldn’t resist an adventure and encouraged a friend out on a butterfly hunt with me, after all, two sets of eyes are better then one! The headland where the butterfly was spotted, is just 20 minutes down the road from my home. Brownsham is part of the National trust and is situated on the Hartland peninsular, the circular walk involves woodland valleys, breath taking views of the ocean and as it opens out the headland exposes wonderful grass meadows just buzzing with a wonderment of small creatures. The track then ambles down to the ocean and the famous blackchurch rock formation. We saw some beautiful meadow wildlife, including lots of red tailed bumble bees and lovely gatekeeper butterflies, a childhood favourite of mine, that always takes me back to memories of the village I was born in …But still no elusive Marsh fritillary.

As we sat after our walk eating strawberries on a bench, noticing buzzards and dragonflies in the fields the most wonderful thing happened, a beautiful little Marsh fritillary flitted by, it stopped a moment on a branch in a shard of forest light, then was gone as quick as it had appeared. Just like magic.

‘Shoal of Tangs in Ghost Coral’

‘Shoal of Tangs in Ghost Coral’

This piece has been completed on two panels of glass creating that unique feeling of depth within the subject matter. The fish are reverse painted and gilded in silver and 24kt gold leaf. Both panels of glass have also been acid etched with a ghost coral design on the face. This piece is designed in response to declining ocean conditions on reefs around the world.

Although coral reefs occupy less than 0.1% of the ocean floor, they are home to a quarter of all marine life - that’s more species than the rainforests. It’s important to marine life for shelter, food and laying eggs.

Reefs are vital for people too! protecting coastlines by reducing the impact of storms and waves, which can cause destruction and land erosion. They also provide food and livelihoods to many millions of people, worth around £300 billion each year.

Over the last three decades, the world has lost half of its reefs. The combination of destructive fishing practices, polluted water entering the ocean, coastal development, shipping - and climate change causing rapid ocean warming has led to mass coral death.

Protect our Oceans.

London Craft Week

I was thrilled and excited to recently be asked to collaborate with Crane Court Gallery in London. The gallery invited and hosted me for two wonderful days of the prestigious London Craft week.

Craft week is a creative showcase, spanning across key London locations. The desire of the organisers and sponsors, the Michelangelo foundation, is to showcase the outstanding talent and creativity of crafts people from across the globe.

This was an amazing opportunity to exhibit a current collection of my pieces and to talk and demonstrate my heritage craft skillsets. Events like London Craft week really help me put into perspective the range and depth of skills that I have worked with and honed into my unique craft over the last decade. Its very easy as Artist’s and crafts people too keep our heads down and focused on working, but it’s equally important to remember to look up every now and then talk to people, so that we can share, inspire and keep these wonderful skill sets alive for the future.

The current collection will be on display and available to purchase through the gallery until the 31st May 2025.

The Art of Craft

Crane Court Gallery presents The Art of Craft, a showcase of makers in metalworking, woodworking, blacksmithing, glassblowing, weaving and Verre églomisé. Join us at Crane Court Gallery on Friday 25th April at 5pm for an exclusive first look.

Craft encompasses many aspects of art, design and functionality, it can be minimalist and maximalist, it can tell a story and create conversation, it can educate and inspire.

The essence of all craft though is the presence of the hand of the maker. This can be overt with marks made in clay through pressure and gesture or almost imperceptible with objects formed in metal and silver appearing almost too perfect to have been shaped by hand.

Indeed, each craftsperson, through years and decades of honing their respective skills, has gained a mastery of their medium which allows them to reveal and conceal their hand or simply let the material speak for itself and tell us its own story.

The exhibition runs from 25th April - 30th May, Tuesday-Friday 12-6pm - or by appointment.

The exhibition will be open Monday 12th May – Sunday 18th May, 12-6pm for Craft Week.

3 Crane Court, Fleet Street, London EC4A 2EJ

Book Eventbrite tickets for the Private view

Bird watch

I recently took part in the R.S.P.B. Big garden birdwatch with friends. The Garden birdwatch is a citizen science wildlife survey that records bird numbers and allows a broad survey of bird population trends in the UK. It’s held in January each year and is a great way to get friends and family involved in Nature.

Here in the UK we have lost a staggering 38 million birds in the last 60 years and the Royal Society for the protection of Birds is able to track numbers and trends through the publics involvement with initiatives such as the big bird watch, particular focussing on vulnerable birds and assisting in habitat protection. The organisation manages 200 bird reserves throughout the UK covering a wide range of habitat through charitable donations.

While doing the survey I was able to watch and photograph a plethora of bird species which I’m currently working into a possible concept for a new piece, I have started with sketches and compositions and this new concept piece. I hope to bring a larger bird piece later in the year but for now here is the smaller concept work, ‘Golden Meadow’ …

The Golden Meadow can be found on my Purchase page, where you can find more information and images.

‘Kingfishers’

A short walk from my home, here, in North Devon lies the river Torridge. It threads its way through beautiful Devon Farmlands and historic villages and towns before meeting the river Taw and the Atlantic Ocean at Appledore, the river is an incredible source of inspiration for many local creatives.

A few weeks back while cycling along the tarka trail beside the river, flashes of bright blue caught my eye. I watched in awe and joy several kingfishers hunting along the river edges. They were darting in and out of the reeds and ship wrecks along the river banks. I couldn’t wait to get some composition ideas and studies down onto paper and eventually glass.

And here’s the finished ‘Kingfishers’, you can read and see more images of the kingfishers over on the purchase page.

🔴 * EDIT - ‘Kingfishers’ is SOLD *

Rowden Atelier - ‘Traditional Gilding’

I had the recent pleasure of teaching a very talented group of fine furniture makers at Rowden Atelier the art of Traditional Gilding.

This project was run by Jess Pearson of the North Devon Maker Series and is an offshoot of the ‘New light project’ here’s what Jess had to say…

“We had an incredible two-day gilding workshop at Rowden Atelier fine furniture Woodworking School, led by the amazing Danni Bradford. Edward Wild, a tutor at Rowden, assisted Danni throughout the workshop, guiding five talented woodworkers as they explored this beautiful heritage skill.

It was truly inspiring to see the project come together and witness the enthusiasm to learn oil and water gilding. This workshop is an exciting offshoot of the In a New Light project, which I co-ran with Edward Crumpton.

The passion to preserve and teach traditional crafts continues, and we hope this is just the beginning of more workshops to further celebrate and strengthen the use of these timeless techniques.

A huge thank you to Rowden Atelier for hosting the workshop and to the brilliant Radcliffe Trust for funding the workshop.”

Jess Pearson - The Maker Series

On the desk…

This beautiful ‘Black tip reef Shark’ is swimming amongst a shoal of silver and gold Sergeant fish and is completed in reverse on two panels of glass mounted in a deep frame measuring 105cm x 55cm x 8cm

Sharks are an apex predator and this black tip reef shark plays a major role in structuring the inshore reef ecosystems. This small, generally timid, reef shark hunts in waters only a few meters deep and is easily identified by prominent black tips on their fins.

Black tip reef Sharks are classed as a vulnerable species. Find this latest completed piece over on the purchase page.

* EDIT - SOLD *

Landscape Magazine feature

Celebrating the best of Britain…

Thank you so much to Landscape Magazine for the eight page feature in the May 2024 issue. The piece is written by Simone Stanbrook-Byrne with photographs by Clive Doyle. I had a wonderful few days explaining my practice and showing Simone and Clive my processes and space. The magazine is now available to purchase across the country and on line.

“A wonderful magazine, looking at your home and it’s inevitable interaction with your garden and nature beyond” -www.newsstand.co.uk

International Delivery

“Beautiful art and even better service. Shipped to the other side of the world seamlessly, with excellent communication the whole way along. Thank you so much Danni!” - Tim

This ‘Shoal of Sardines’ was packaged and couriered to the ‘…other side of the world’ 9,461.22 miles (15,226.36 km) and now lives in Australia. International postage is available on all pieces, feel free to contact the studio for an individual quote to your destination.

I package all works myself using foam edging, cardboard and wood. The pieces are generally crated for international deliveries so you may need a screw driver to access the piece once received. I try to use completely recycled and recyclable materials.

If you have any enquiries about international delivery please don’t hesitate to get in touch email me at: info@dannibradfordstudio.com

‘Flamingo’

The iconic pink colouring of a flamingo is actually gained from the food they consume. Crustaceans, shrimp, insects and algae being a large part of their diet, all contain carotene. It’s the natural ‘red’ pigment contained in these many plants and animals that give the flamingo feathers their tone.

Flamingos are actually born white and grey and overtime develop into variations dependent on their global distribution and food source. The famous flamingos of Florida being the iconic bright pink. But other colonies (or flamboyances) vary from red to orange.

Here’s my ‘flamingo’, reverse painted in tones of blended white, pink and red pigments and double gilded in copper and 24kt gold leaf, you can find him over on my Purchase page.

Winner ‘Wildlife Artist of the Year’

During the Global Awards process over 90,000 businesses and professionals from 36 different countries are nominated and assessed on factors such as quality of service, innovation, experience and sustainability.

And I’am thrilled to announce I have been awarded

“Wildlife Artist of Year 2023/24”

Many thanks to Corporate Live Wire and the Global Awards team.

Pair of Goldfinches

This piece has bought me so much joy to make. Not only because I love goldfinches but because of their story…

In the 19th century Goldfinches were taken to the brink of extinction as they were coveted for their beauty and widely kept as a caged bird. Literally hundreds of thousands of birds were taken from the wild in Britain.

In 1889, Emily Williamson created the Society for the Protection of Birds with one core aim – to fight to protect endangered birds. She wanted to stop the fashion for feathers, exotic plumes and the keeping of wild birds in cages. One of the first battles that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB, fought was against the taking of Goldfinches from the wild. It took several years but in 1933 that the government passed an act to make the sale of wild birds illegal.

The women of the RSPB bought the goldfinch back from near extinction. The British population of goldfinches has now recovered so that this delightful, beloved finch has become a familiar, common sight once again.

🔴 *EDIT - ‘Pair of Goldfinches’ SOLD*

The Cruel and Curious Sea

It was an emotional final exhibition in the Barns of the National Trust’s, Stowe Barton. I’m incredibly proud and humbled to have been a part of this event for the past ten years and I was thrilled to be able to exhibit my largest, free standing, Shoal of Sardines ‘Silver Darlings’ alongside some wonderful cephalopods.

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023

I was so thrilled to again be a finalist in the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year prize. An international award showcasing the work of wildlife Artists from across the globe. The awards ceremony and week long Exhibition was held in the iconic Mall Galleries in London. To be shortlisted for a second year has been an absolute honour.

“Through our collection of wildlife art, DSWF continues to honour the legacy of David Shepherd through art events, exhibitions, partnerships, and sales of outstanding original artworks and prints to support wildlife conservation efforts across Africa and Asia.

By showcasing the breathtaking talent of wildlife artists and sharing their powerful messages, we hope to inspire a deeper appreciation for wildlife and a sense of responsibility to protect and conserve our natural heritage for future generations.”

-David Shepherd Wildlife foundation

My piece ‘Migration of Monarchs’ consists of two square panels of individually reverse hand painted and copper gilded glass suspended in a deep bespoke frame. The Iconic Migratory Monarch Butterfly has been listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN red list of threatened species, meaning the species is likely to become extinct without significant intervention. The number of migratory Monarch’s has declined by 95% since the 1980’s due to climate change, habitat loss and the use of pesticides and herbicides.

🔴 *EDIT - ‘Migration of Monarchs’ is SOLD*

Craft festival - Bovey Tracey

It’s been a very busy, hot, weekend on Dartmoor in Devon. I was delighted to be invited to showcase my work at the ‘Craft festival’ in Bovey Tracey. Over 200 exceptional makers from across the UK came together for an amazing event.

The centre tent at the festival was the Heritage crafts association’s ‘Red list of endangered crafts’. Highlighted in the tent was a collection of Endangered craft forms.

Since 2017 the Heritage Crafts association have published a ‘red list’ to highlight dying crafts, and have set up an endangered crafts fund to help at-risk crafts overcome obstacles that are standing in the way of long term viability. They support and help makers in a multitude of ways, and are helping to reverse the decline of craft skills in the UK, where currently 84 crafts are listed as endangered, and 62 as critically endangered.

Verre - Eglomise , the reverse painting and gilding of glass is classed as an ‘Endangered Craft ’, meaning there are serious concerns about the ongoing viability of the craft. This may include a shrinking market, ageing demographic or a decline in practitioners. You can support and find out more over at the ‘Heritage Craft Association’s’ Website

Top Drawer - Olympia

Thank you so much to Top Drawer for selecting me to exhibit alongside some amazing brands and collectives this January at Olympia, London.

Also, what a fabulous surprise to see my work blown up to an eight foot graphic in the foyer of Olympia to promote the craft section.