Francesca Balzan is an art historian, author and practising sculptor. Her interest lies principally in portraiture and the human face, using historic sources to produce narratives which are whimsical and often humorous. Nonetheless, pathos and humanity remain sub-lying themes that inform her work. She creates written narratives to accompany her sculptures and considers them an essential element of her art. Fran’s principal material is clay but she has worked with paper and other materials. In recent years her focus is on pushing clay to its extremes to see where it can take her. The past is her subject, archives are her expertise. She uses her knowledge and love for archives to mine information from archival and art historical sources, to use as subjects or as elements for her sculpture.