Alasdair Thomson
In this episode I talk to Alasdair Thomson a stone carver and sculptor based in Edinburgh.
Alasdair did an art history degree and after trying stone carving while in Canada he felt compelled to continue. I first came across Alasdair’s work at a gallery fair but he no longer works with galleries, preferring to source commissions directly. Take a listen below.
Five things I learned from Alasdair
He first trained with Mark Menon in Conneticut working with granite and then took an apprenticeship in Italy where he learned to work with Carrara marble which was a softer stone.
He used a lot of his time in Italy to visit churches and museums with sculpture, as his interest in the great sculptors of the Renaissance was being seen afresh through the eyes of a sculptor.
He prefers Carrara marble because of its quality. It allows him to be more expressive than other stones, and was the stone of choice for Bernini so he feels connected to the tradition of great sculpture and art history.
His atelier training gave him a foundation in copying. His own work is apparel and footwear, contemporary items of clothing which give the illusion of softer materials than the hard stone it is made from.
Starting out he felt the gallery route to market was the only way. However as a sculptor he has moved away from that model and now pursues commissions directly.
