A Legacy of Form and Figure
This portfolio represents over 40 years of professional sculpture—a journey that began at the Tyler School of Art and flourished through a lifelong creative partnership with my late husband and fellow sculptor, Chuck Oldham (1950-2014).
From 1974 to 2014, we worked side-by-side, collaborating on intricate designs for industry leaders like Cybis Porcelains, the Franklin Mint, Lenox Collections, Danbury Mint, the Bradford Exchange, and United Design. We also started our own specialized studio porcelain foundry, Oldham Porcelains, to produce our own one-of-a-kind and limited-edition hard-paste porcelain sculpture.
Although this gallery features a collection of past endeavors in the professional sphere, every piece is the culmination of the same clay modeling processes and techniques. Whether for a complex commission or a simple study, the process begins with the same fundamentals I teach today. My goal is to pass on the technical secrets and professional approach we honed together, helping a new generation of artists find their own creative voice in clay.
New works are added regularly as I continue to develop new project guides and studio pieces.
The Annunciation is a sculpture we created for United Design. It is very small but very detailed as you can see. This final version was produced in resin and hand painted.
The sculpture in bronze of two kittens was originally named Amber and Alibi, by Chuck Oldham. It has yet to be completed with patina.
The Bengal Tiger, a large, beautifully hand-painted porcelain sculpture, has a storied history. It was originally sculpted in clay by Chuck Oldham, but when the Franklin Mint first marketed it, they placed another artist's name on the piece (yes, they did that all the time). When the Oldhams stated they would take their account to 60 Minutes, the Mint retracted the name and removed it from further productions.
The Cybis Great Horned Owl was among Chuck Oldham's first porcelain sculptures for Cybis Porcelains. At the time, in the 1970s, it sold for $3,750 and was used by the US government diplomats as a gift to heads of states of foreign countries. It required scores of individual molds to produce in hard paste porcelain and is entirely hand painted using overglaze requiring additional firings.
The Cousteaus, famous for underwater films, commissioned this piece from Cybis and Chuck Oldham was invited to their headquarters to plan the sculpture. The resulting porcelain piece is a limited edition.
Another of the models in the series named "Judith" by Vicky Oldham.
The life-size porcelain screech owl family by Chuck Oldham was one of our last pieces for Cybis. By then, much of the fine giftware industry in the United States was transitioning to Asian production, moving away from porcelain and toward reproductions in resin.
The prairie dog by Chuck Oldham was among his first works for Cybis. He never approved of how they painted this piece, or others. His job was to create the clay models and rework the plaster models required for plaster molds to cast in porcelain slip.
The Dall Sheep for Cybis Porcelains was a large, tabletop hard-paste porcelain piece which took months to complete..
Lady of the Pearl by Chuck and Vicky Oldham. We worked as a team to create this sculpture, from a proposal with illustrations to the finished bronze.
The "People of the Sun, Lady of the Pearl" Sculpture by Chuck and Vicky Oldham was intended to be a life-size bronze piece in Sedona, Arizona which told the creation story of the Yavapai people, among the first inhabitants of Sedona and the surrounding area.
A 1940's lady vase in the series "Judith" by Vicky Oldham.
Chuck Oldham created The American Wild Turkey porcelain sculpture for Cybis in the 1970s. It was available in two finishes: in white porcelain (mostly unpainted) and in color, fully hand painted. Although it was issued in a very limited edition, we were lucky to obtain one of a few artist proofs. Unfortunately, when it was shipped as a gift to my aunt, it broke into hundreds of pieces. Thankfully, we were able to super glue it all back together!
United Design commissioned this figurine, "Hope" in the early 2000s. Vicky sculpted the face while Chuck sculpted the body.
United Design commissioned this figurine, "Joy" in the early 2000s. Vicky sculpted the face while Chuck sculpted the body.
United Design commissioned this figurine, "Peace" in the early 2000s. Vicky sculpted the face while Chuck sculpted the body.
United Design commissioned this figurine, "Love" in the early 2000s. Vicky sculpted the face while Chuck sculpted the body.
Vicky Oldham designed and sculpted this 30 inch high clay model for United Design, a giftware company located in Norman, Oklahoma in the early 2000s.
Chuck Oldham sculpted this life-size great horned owl for a bronze commission in the early 2000s. Notice the beak and talons are white since they were carved in plaster to ensure perfect smoothness. The final bronze cast is uniform in color.
Moonlight and Platinum, created by Vicky Oldham in the 1980s, was among Franklin Mint's best selling figurines (generating tens of millions in gross sales) and inspired a similar "art deco" line of figurines by other Mint artists. You can still find this unlimited edition porcelain reproduction on Ebay.
The clay sculpture of a stalking wolf, still in progress, was created by Vicky Oldham on her YouTube channel, YouTube.com/LearnSculpture.
The Gyrfalcon by Chuck Oldham for Cybis Porcelains was a truly magnificent life-sized work. Cybis promised him a copy, but he never received it. It was reportedly very difficult and expensive to produce.
Chuck and Vicky Oldham created an entire figurine collection of lazy Santa and hard-working elves to accompany an original Christmas card sketched by Vicky in the late 1990s.
The Arctic Fox and lemmings created for Cybis Porcelains in the 1970s was among Chuck's first works. We actually adopted an Eskimo spitz at from the local shelter to use as a model. Of course we kept him (named "White Dog," of all things) and he lived to be 18 years old!
Vicky Oldham created a collection of "lady head" vases for United Design. One of the models in the series was named "Judith" and was popular in a number of designs, fashion expressions, and personalities.
