Ally Dalton, Sculpture in Bronze and Ceramic
Limited Edition:
Touch as a Whisper
Bronze, Limited Edition of 20
Winner, Sculpture on the Edge 2025, Small sculpture. Touch as a Whisper 1 of 20 (Sold).
Winner, Sculpture Bermagui 2026, People's choice award, indoor sculpture. Touch as a Whisper 2 of 20 (Sold)
This sculpture celebrates subtle touch in intimacy, this is enhanced by open elliptical negative space between the two romantic humpback whales. This shared negative space is filled with the sum of the curved forms dancing and changing, massive strength, elegance and subtle receptive respect.
Interestingly these powerful ocean giants are sensitive to subtle pressure. They can feel and adjust their form in response to water pressure and fine tune their elegant and efficient movement.
Patch and Mum
Bronze, Limited Edition of 10
Winner, Peoples Choice, Lake Light Sculpture 2025, Small Sculpture, Patch and Mum 1 of 10.
Based on the birth of a Southern Right Whale called Patch, the new born calf has a distinctive white marking on its back. The mother is easily identified by the unique callosities on her face, with the right lip arch being longer than the left. These thickened callous markings get colonized by tubeworms and barnacles and stay relatively unchanged throughout the whales life. This makes it possible for whale enthusiasts to identify individual whales. Her facial features have been carefully crafted in the sculpture to identify her. She has a following and is easily searchable by her nickname "odd lips", she has birthed three calf over the last 15 years. Whale enthusiasts along the Great Ocean Road, have watched and monitored individuals of this species as it has recovered from near extinction.
Migrating with my Baby
Bronze, Limited Edition of 24
Migrating with my Baby is honouring breastfeeding mothers. Mother Humpbacks swim from warm northern Australian waters with their newborn calves to cold Antarctic feeding grounds. During this journey they are breastfeeding, fasting, shrinking, defending, striving for food and sanctuary. Hunted by those who ignore international law.
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Eden's Ghosts
Eden's Ghosts Limited Edition of 10 (tabletop)
Based on the Killers of Eden, a famous pod of Orcas (Killer Whales) who worked with the whalers to hunt the great whales. From the top, these Orcas are; Old Tom, Typie, Humpy, Hooky, Jackson and small Kisinger with the Matriarch, Big Ben, at the bottom. This sculpture is based on a larger outdoor sculpture sold at Sculpture Bermagui in 2025. This smaller tabletop version can be finished with Renaissance Wax or a Clear Coat for outdoor display.
Bronze Sculpture Care
Many of the bronzes are finished with Renaissance Wax over both patinaed and polished metal. I prefer this traditional finish as I believe that good bronze should be able to passed down to future generations. Synthetic clear coat may become discoloured or flake over time like an old car.
When finished with Renaissance Wax the patinas will mature and may undergo some colour shift, but polished components can be repolished. Take care if using polishing compounds to keep them to the polished metal parts so as not to damage the patina.
The wax finish on the patina can be removed and cleaned by dabbing with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. I use Renaissance Wax from Derwent wax supplies. Barnes Sculptural Supplies also has a Renaissance Wax.
Any manufacturing faults can be rpaired by Ally Dalton free of charge, if the bronze sculpture is dropped or run over, it may need structural repairs. The bronze components are silicon bronze and can be TIG or MIG welded using Silicon bronze filler rod and pure argon shield. Melting point is approximately 1050 degrees Celsius and pieces need to be to be close to the melting point to bend without cracking. I recommend getting metal repairs done by an art foundry, however a skilled boilermakers could do the weld repairs.
Gallery
About Ally
As a child, my first memory is making a wattle and daub wall with my sister and putting clay on the daub in our hippy dwelling at Two Creeks Perico SE NSW.
When living in Papua New Guinea for 4 years I was inspired by the Melanesian wood carvings of sea creatures and loved to hold these sculptures and play games with them. This style of elegance and realism left an echo through my life. Living by the sea and regularly snorkelling I have always marvelled at the movement of aquatic creatures.
My grandmother Catherine was very encouraging of me sculpting animals with clay which I sourced from the dam. Being an artist herself and training under her uncle, the modern British artist Ben Nicholson, my grandmother believed in art as a vocation. For years I ignored her, studying and working in both biological sciences and remedial massage, before returning to live with her and making sculpture.
The attention to detail used in scientific taxonomic drawing gave a solid zoological anatomic foundation to my work. This was complemented by my study and practise of remedial massage. I also have an admiration for abstract art and play at incorporating abstract ideas into the interaction of forms when sculpting.
Above: Applying plaster and sand Investments to the waxes befor bronze casting in Eden NSW Australia.