Sculpture: Selected Works
James Barnhill has been internationally recognized for his prolific sculpture career, which spans more than three decades. View a selection of Barnhill's personal and commissioned work in the slideshow below.
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Barnhill on Process:
"My approach to sculpting the figure is to work from the live model in clay. I work from the silhouetted edges or contours, "drawing" with small bits of clay. As I follow the forms around the live model, the contours I am making in clay must conform to the model as well as line up with each other. As I work around the piece, I move around the model.
Working in this manner is my greatest joy. A laser-like focus required, and yet this focus is not exhausting, rather it is relaxing, even pleasurable.
I also look for suggested geometric forms in the pose or within the figure itself - circles, arcs, squares, rectangles, and triangles. I will push the clay in that direction, but not beyond believability. The mind's eye is pleased to recognize those shapes in any given piece, whether conscious of them or not."