Sculpting is in his blood, Dunedin artist Bryn Jones says.
The John McGlashan College head of art, whose father is also a sculptor, has been interested in the art form from childhood.
''I was influenced at an early age, I suppose.''
Jones is married to artist Philippa Wilson, who created Bud, a metal artwork in the University of Otago campus featuring Hone Tuwhare's poetry. Their son, a John McGlashan pupil, has also started sculpting.
''I think he's one of the few students who doesn't mind that his father's a teacher.''
Jones started working in wood but now used ''almost any medium you can name''. He created a sculpture of Sir Edmund Hillary in 2003 at Mt Cook for the 50th anniversary of his Everest climb.
Closer to home, he created the bronze cedar cone in the Dunedin Botanic Garden for the Lebanese community, and a stone bust of benefactor Dorothy Theomin, at Olveston. At the moment, Jones is planning a life-sized statue of a sea lion and pup, to be situated at the end of the St Clair Esplanade.
''I reckon it will be fantastic,'' he said.
''I want something people will run and jump on. Good sculpture is like that, people want to touch it. It has to be strong enough for kids and young people to climb on it.''
Proposed by the New Zealand Sea Lion Trust, the statue was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the arrival of sea lion ''Mum'' at Taieri Mouth.
She was the first breeding female to return to mainland New Zealand for 150 years.
''It's good that people gain some recognition of the fact that it is an endangered species. And there's a wee pup, that's the cute part of it.''
Jones, originally of Geraldine, said his figurative, realistic style of sculpture was relatively unusual.
Before training as a teacher, he went from art school to making exhibitions at the National Museum (now Te Papa).
''If you can imagine a very old vintage car being displayed, I made a person driving the car complete with flying cap, goggles and scarf flying behind him, that sort of thing.''
He got the position partly because there were so few figurative sculptors around, he said. The popularity of abstract artwork meant figurative sculpture suffered.
''Not many people do it, so not many people are good at doing it,'' he said.
''Art schools don't really teach it.''
Jones, who has taught art at John McGlashan for 18 years now, said his sculpture programme was one of few in the South Island and the only one in Otago.
''Boys love making things - girls do too - but boys like it rather than painting or drawing as much.''
Sculpting and welding armatures was akin to building a house, he said.
Many of his pupils went on to attend the Massey School of Design, and recently former pupil James Skeggs received second place in the national James Dyson Design Award.
By Elena McPhee
