Well, the interview got me curious. He was talking about these micro sculptures that he creates - sculptures so small that they sit in the eye of a needle....... like his sculpture of Henry VIII and his 6 wives, and his latest of the Obama Family.......all in the eye of a needle... It sounded all a little bizarre and as it was an interview on the radio, it sort of lost a little in the visual side of things!!! He mentioned using eyelashes to move pieces on to the sculptures and how he worked at night as there was less movement and interference from road traffic...and how he held his breath and the such.....
Anyhow, when I got home, I looked Willard up online and sure enough he does create micro sculptures. It doesn't say what material he uses to makes them..., but they are definitely tiny and many of them can only be viewed through a microscope. He lives in England and has recently been awarded an MBE for his contribution to art.....but he's also sparking great interest from scientists - like micro surgeons and nano technology experts....
His story is so sweet....he wasn't very good at school so he'd skip lessons and go back to his shed at home and watch the ants. It seemed they didn't have a home, so he started building little apartments for the ants, then made them little shoes and hats.... and so his micro sculptures began......Some of his current sculptures take 2 - 3 months to complete.....and his work has been described as "the eighth wonder of the world".
Here's a little YouTube video from Blue Peter about him:
He will be touring the USA soon, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston - where his sculptures can be viewed through microscopes!...but still no idea what he makes them out of.... If any of you have a chance to see his work, do let me know about it! Just sounds so different to spend all your time creating something sooooooooo tiny....what patience he must have.....
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1 comment:
Mind blowing... How? How? How?.... Absolutely amazing... Lost for words...
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