Late in April I had the pleasure of speaking with artist Thomas Williams. I have always admired his work I have seen around Oregon, so being able to sit and talk about his past felt like a great honor.
Thomas Williams (1949-) is a prominent wood sculptor, carving a myriad of objects out of wood. He is known for carving sculptural panels, freestanding sculpture, and most notably doors. Originally from Eugene, OR, Tom moved to Atlanta, GA with his wife in 1975, where he set up roots for his practice. He studied fine art at Lewis and Clark College for his first 2 years, then transfered and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1972. While at UO he learned sculpture under professors Paul Buckner and Jan Zach. He cites Buckner as being an excellent influence and a technically skilled teacher while Zach could be overly critical and emphasized more scale and size over quality.
In the beginning, Tom was primarily focused on metals and welding before ultimately deciding on wood as his preferred medium. Sometime after college he crossed paths with the "father of woodcarving" in Oregon, Leroy Setziol. In Tom's early work, Setziol's influence is very clearly seen with key differences being William's emphasis on more fluidity and texture, whereas Setziol focused on creating gridwork. While Setziol and Williams were friends, Setziol was never a teacher or took him on (or anyone for that matter) as an apprentice.
A great story Williams shared with me was in the summer of 1972, Setziol was out of the country doing a commission and let Williams stay at his house (also where his carving studio was) in Portland. One day while working on a sculpture in the studio, a couple of potential clients came knocking and asking for Setziol. They wanted him to carve a door for an upcoming project but needed it before Setziol would return. Williams informed them and collected their information. He spoke with Monica Setziol-Phillips (Leroy's daughter) about it later and rather than let the opportunity pass, she encouraged him to carve it instead and so he did.
The following year in 1973, Williams would leave the country for an entire year spending his time in Europe traveling visiting museums, art galleries and public works. His goal was to soak up as much of the old master's works to influence him in to further different directions. Upon his return to Eugene, he got to working feverishly out of a 1 car garage duplex. He was knocking on architects doors and anyone else who would listen to the vision he was trying to sell. Before he left Oregon, he thinks he carved about 5-6 doors in total. In his total career he thinks hes carved somewhere between 200-300 doors.
These days Tom is taking it a little easier and enjoying time with his family. He spent time in 2014 to travel to Carrara, Italy to spend more time learning and carving in stone. He has also been exploring sculpting in Bonsai. I asked him if he had any sort of funny story or experience to share as a lifelong sculptor. He said for the entirety of his career that anytime someone asked what he did for a living and told them he was a sculptor that it was always met with incredulousnes. People couldn't believe that you could actually make a living as an artist. Tom still resides in Atlanta and still sculpts at his home studio.