Max first visited the Sculpture Workshop in 2005 due to referral from the MIND office in Plymouth; initially coming only to watch a creative workshop in session but being empowered by what he saw he quickly got involved.

 
Max had obvious life issues that he was dealing with, he had been addicted to Heroin since he was 16 he was now 30 years old but he was keen to get away from that part of his life, he was also Mental Health Service User hence his connection with MIND.

Max really wanted to find a direction in his life but had been getting doors slammed in his face because he had a criminal record for stealing and the way he looked with facial piercings and tattoos and the fact that after so long on Heroin he looked like a physical wreck.

After just a few hours with him it was obvious that he had a real talent for working with his hands and he loved the idea of creating characters in clay so he took a bag of clay back to Plymouth with him with the plan to come back in a week a show what he had made.

In a way it was a test of his commitment, If he didn’t come back with the work I would know he wasn’t serious about wanting to change but luckily he did come back.

One of Max’s other loves was football, one of the heads he had made was a brilliant caricature of Gazza so I suggested we mould it and cast it in resin and send it to Gazza to see if wanted to buy it. Max then suggested he make a body to go with the head and within a few minutes we had a potential business for max to start, making little sculpted caricatures of footballers or celebrities.

Max threw himself into the work with such determination that sometimes he would hitch-hike from his flat in Plymouth to Wadebridge to show me the latest head. He was still getting a drug check every week to make sure he hadn’t been falling back into his old ways, every day was a battle but everyone at the Sculpture Workshop was supporting him and he really didn’t want to let us down.

Together we got the Gazza caricature made but couldn’t find any way of getting it to him so we put it on EBay and sold it for £560; Max was delighted and was fired up to make more.

What you see here is the proof of Max’s dedication and incredible talent, over several months he made and painted 14 of these sculptures which he named BIG EDZ.

Max and Lexy of the Sculpture Workshop tried their hardest to contact all the celebrities but they never even got a reply. 

Sadly this story doesn’t end well, Max tried to stop a known drug dealer selling Heroin on Union Street in Plymouth,  he got stabbed for his good intention and died at the scene.