A while ago I wrote a blog about artist Ken Hughes because I owned a sculpture by him. I commented at the time that he seemed to have had a successful artistic life but that there was little about him out there.
I had assumed that Ken Hughes was no longer alive. Then a researcher contacted me via my blog. Then his daughter contacted me. And Ken is still alive.
I also discovered I have another piece of ceramics by Ken. A plaster tile, also purchased by my grandma.
Ken Hughes, tile, 1996
Tile, reverse, signed 'Ken Hughes'
Provenance, my grandma's note
This morning I got into work to find a lovely two page hand written letter from Ken. He said that maybe he hadn’t undertaken as much self-publicity as he should have. I wrote back (not hand-written I am afraid) reflecting that maybe those of us that come after should all help towards creating a legacy.
@rachelcockett 
Hi Rachel, I was a student of Ken’s at Corsham from 1965 to 69. I too have been searching for him on line but have found little. I’ve very much got back into my art and would love some sort of conversation with him. He was very helpful to me. Would you know if he has an email? I now live in New Zealand. My name at Corsham was Pauline Allen but was known as Paddy. I worked in fibreglass and did a special project on rocking horses! This is a bit of a shot in the dark! I have a web site paulinewatts.carbonmade.com
HI Pauline, nice to hear from you. I am in the process of hunting down the letter I received from Ken, in the meantime I have emailed your contact details to his daughter, Emma, who also contacted me via my other blog on this site. Hopefully she will get in touch with you. R
Dear Rachel,
I am fascinated to have come across Ken Hughes’ work, and see that he died recently. Thank you for your really interesting stories on the pieces you have by him. I wrote a dissertation on sculptor Frank Dobson year’s ago, and Hughes’ portrait busts share some similarities to that of Dobson. Portrait heads are possibly the most revealing of the sculptural genres – of the priorities of the day, of the character of the sitter, of the ability of the artist, and of course whether any or all of these three elements have stood the test of time… thanks. I would be fascinated to know more about the range of his work, and in particular on the different sitters who sat for him.
Adrian