“I love the challenge of coaxing a sensuous form from a hard unyielding material ”
Tommy Brennan is a sculptor living in Tubber Co.Clare.
He creates mostly small scale figurative pieces in stone. Tommy has worked with stone for most of his life, firstly as a stonemason and then as a sculptor. The transition from building to carving stone felt like a natural one.
In his work he uses off-cuts and fragments of broken or discarded stone which he acquires from monumental sculptors, salvage yards and building sites. Thus, these pieces of stone, instead of being destined for landfill, are given a new lease of life. In what might be perceived as rubble, he sees potential and value. The random nature of obtaining stone determines the size and form of the figure. The figure fits the available stone…the stone often suggests the figure.
In his process, Tommy works from drawings and photographs to create a 3D model in clay which acts as a guide for the finished form. His work is small scale, figurative and representational and focussed mainly on the female form.