

Welcome to Mike Thompson Metal Sculpture
I love to create wildlife sculptures using vintage tools.
My ever growing collection of these old tools allows me to select the most appropriate shapes for the piece I am making. I then cut, grind and bend them before welding them together, leaving the eye to fill in the gaps.
Basically, this involves spot welding the metal pieces together, keeping the form as anatomically accurate as the material affords, whilst trying to keep the tools in their original form.
I always try to showcase the tool’s origins - highlighting any cast maker's marks or place of manufacture, as well as using their bolts, nuts and handles, incorporating as much of the original tool as possible.
Once complete, the sculpture is moved outside to allow the elements to encourage a rust patina that is then sealed and finished with a natural and pigmented wax, highlighting the tools features.
My pieces can be displayed inside, preserving the finish or outside, where the natural wax coating eventually weathers, creating an ever changing red-brown patina.
I particularly enjoy the challenge of creating commissions using some tools supplied by the client, be that their own or once cherished by someone dear, thereby giving the finished sculpture a sentimental, as well as aesthetic value.
If you would like to have a conversation about how I can create a sculpture for you, please do get in touch, so that we can discuss exactly what you're looking for - potentially incorporating some tools that you have yourself, or from someone dear to you.
I have some of my work on display and for sale at MAKE Southwest in Bovey Tracey in Devon - www.crafts.org.uk
Please take a look at my Gallery by clicking on the link below.