John Goadby was the sculptor behind at least two of the Clarecraft Fighting Fantasy Ornaments.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
John Goadby is based in Bury St Edmunds. He trained at Stourbridge College of Art, Birmingham, where in 1981 he received a First class honours degree in Fine Art.[1]
Career[]
He worked freelance for many years, and during the early 1990's did some pieces for Clarecraft. He later had a solo exhibition in 1999 called Expressions on Steel at the Gwyther Contemporary Gallery, Islington, London, and between 2000 and 2002 was part of a number of group exhibitions including:
- 2000 Contemporary art Now, Unicorn Gallery, Mayfair, London
- 2001 MODE, Business Design Centre, Islington, London
- 2002 Cross Country, Niederrheinisches Museum, Kevelaer, Germany
- 2002 Summer Show, Bury St Edmunds Gallery, Bury St Edmunds Gallery, Suffolk
- 2012 February, Surface Design Show, Islington London.
Goadby said of his influences and work:
“ People always seem to be interested in an artists influences, if pushed to give names I would say I have enjoyed the work of Jackson Pollock, Antoni Tapies and a lot of the new breed of top end graphic artists and designers working in experimental moving image and animation. But the main influence on my work would be colour, the materials and physical process I go though in producing the work. Rhythms within rhythms, shapes within shapes and colours within colours. When I'm working it's more to do with the materials I'm using rather than a specific idea.[2] ”

The Skull Bearer ornament
Work[]
Fighting Fantasy Ornaments[]
The Discworld-oriented pieces were Clarecraft's biggest selling line. However, John was asked to create some of the Fighting Fantasy related material also (Leigh Pamment making the majority). These included:
- JL07 - Gillibran Lord Of The Dwarfs - Sculpted in 1992 according to the figure.
- JL11 - The Skull Bearer[3] - Sculpted in 1992 according to the figure.
He may also have been responsible for:
- JL04 - The Snow Witch[4]
- JL12 - Hydra - Never launched due to complexity of design[5]
- JL13 - Fighting Fantasy Statue Plaque/Bookend - Sculpted in 1992 according to the figure.
References[]
- ↑ Axis - the online resource for contemporary art
- ↑ Artist statement at Axis - the online resource for contemporary art
- ↑ Referred to as "Bone Collector" in the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
- ↑ The 25th Anniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain makes it clear that this is Shareella.
- ↑ Not mentioned in the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain