Alan Thornhill - Working Methods

Working Methods

Devising his own way of working which dispensed with the traditional sculptor's armature, he began working with random clay elements, constructed of coarse clay with uniform thickness, so that sculpture could develop, be turned and incorporate subconscious impulses in building the work. The assemblage of clay elements was dried and slowly kiln fired, if necessary being cut up to accommodate to the size of kiln and then rejoined after firing. The simple impetus was the desire to produce another sculpture, yet the later resulting large works - part figurative, part abstract, came to echo pre-occupations for him at that time. The process of improvisation and avoiding pre-conceived ideas (and in his portraiture, avoiding notions of normality through rigorous observation) continues to be taught through some of his own former pupils. His writings include notes about portraiture and the nature of the creative process.