Teenage artist Max Smith's clay models raising cash for good causes

Max Smith has found a love for clay and produced mini statues of animals and things he has seen.

Proud mum Fiona is now getting ready to raffle off some of the models to raise money for Can Do and My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

The two good causes are important to the family, who live in Dunbar.

Fiona told the Courier that 15-year-old Max, who has autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), attends Can Do, previously known as East Lothian Special Needs Playscheme.

She said: “When Max was younger, maybe 10 or 11, he started making models with sheets of paper.

“You could tell what they were and after that he decided to go on to tinfoil.

“Just off his own back, he started making stuff.

“I had put pictures of the tinfoil models onto Dunbar in Pictures [Facebook page] and he got a lot of likes and comments.

“At Christmas time, we bought him some clay and he started making some more models.

“Somebody from Dunbar Craft Studio messaged me after I put those pictures online asking me if I would like to sell the models.

“My husband Steve and myself were talking and thought: ‘What if we sell a few to raise money for a charity?’”

One of Max's sculptures

Knox Academy Meadowpark pupil Max’s models range from “tiny” to sculptures that would fit in the palm of your hand.

Members of the public are now asked to make a donation, with the money going to the two charities.

My Name’5 Doddie Foundation was set up by former Scottish rugby union star Doddie Weir, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The charity aims to aid research into the condition, which affects the brain and nerves.

Max’s younger brother Daniel played rugby in Dunbar, while older brother Jamie helps out at Can Do, which offers fun, friendship and adventures for young people with disabilities living in East Lothian.

A donation enters the person into a draw to win one of eight models.

Mum Fiona said: “Max has always been interested in art and doing stuff and trying to copy it.

“When he was younger, it was a sheet of paper and he would make it into something just by folding it and crunching it up.

“Then, he did the same with tinfoil, and we would just go ‘wow’ when he was finished. There was no indication of what he was doing to start with and then he would come up with a model at the end of it.

“Now he sees things on his phone or when he is out and about and makes them.”

Donate at the Co-op on Dunbar High Street or at justgiving.com/team/Max-smith14