Expressing Potential – Sculpture by American Artist Bill Thompson

By becoming aware of “the journey” I certainly think you are more likely to push through even when you’re struggling for inspiration. Boston-based American Sculptor Bill Thompson showcases this through his own journey, discussing a similar philosophy in his short film that can be watched below.

Even though the video debuted in 2015, it’s one of those timeless pieces that showcases the hard work and determination needed by an artist to bring something rooted in their imagination in to the physical world. Bill talks about the need to work hard in a physical sense, using his whole body to form these fluid smooth shapes that becoming wall hangings of a sort. A contrast to the methods used to make them, which are in no way pretty and involve plenty of dust, paint, and hard graft.

The result are sculptures that focus heavily on the smoothness of the contours and how the different lines work cohesively. Importantly, Bill talks a lot about the shapes dictating his direction as a sculptor and how he lets them pull him along, reacting to the curvature and the different levels. I think this is an important takeaway from this, that we need to be hands on and let things unfold before us to make work that’s identifiable to us so we can follow our own path. View more on Bill Thompsons webpage below and make sure you watch the short film for that extra dose of inspiration.

billthompsonstudio.com

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