Tom Allan ARBS

I have been making sculpture since 1977, and sculpting full time since 2001. I have worked in various media, but mainly use stone and marble.

I attended classes in sculpture and life drawing at Glasgow School of Art, and have worked with and learned from stone-masons in Scotland and marble-carvers in Carrara, Italy. I have explored various places connected with the development of sculpture, such as Naxos, Volterra, and Florence. Since 2000 I have worked for several weeks each year at a studio in Carrara.

For me stone sculpture is an expressive art form. I try to express emotion through the stone I am working with, like a painter using colour and form. There is an excitement in that, and the challenge is to bring modern techniques and idioms to this ancient art.

The majority of my sculptures are on a domestic scale, to be lived with in the home or outdoors in the garden. I have also done some large-scale commissions, project-managing the whole process from quarry to installation. Recently I have also been commissioned to do stone sculpture for public community projects in Glasgow.

Scotland has a long tradition of stone-carving, but little is done today. To raise its profile, I organised an international exhibition of stone and marble sculpture, "Carrara to Glasgow" in 2004, and in 2006 I set up and organised the first regular International Stone Sculpture Symposium in Scotland. Twelve sculptors, from 8 different countries, came to participate in the event. This was repeated in 2007, at Kelburn Castle near Largs, and we plan to continue on a regular basis.

Teaching stone sculpture is an important activity for me, and I have been running classes at Glasgow Sculpture Studios since 2005, with students ranging from absolute beginners, through experienced amateurs from all ages and all occupations, to Art School students, graduates, and art teachers.

Stone sculpture class at Glasgow Sculpture Studios

Since 1980 I have exhibited at the RGI, RSA, and later VAS and PAI annual exhibitions. Solo shows include RGI Kelly Gallery, Glasgow, Alexander Clayton Art, Stratford, Pittenweem Arts Festival, and the Quaker Gallery, London. My sculptures are regularly in the Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow, Leith Gallery, Edinburgh, Scottish Showcase Gallery, Kirkcudbright, and the Jerdan Gallery, Crail.

2002	Elected professional member of Visual Arts Scotland. Elected professional member of Paisley Art Institute. Second Prize, Helen Keller Award.
2004	Curated "Carrara to Glasgow", sculptors from 5 countries. "Tara" Sculpture Symposium, Banja Bashta, Serbia.
2005	Winner, Best Carved Sculpture, PAI.
2006	Elected Associate of the Royal British Sculptors Society. Winner, VAS Exhibition, SSWA and SAC Prizes. "Clach" sculpture symposium, Plane Castle, Stirlingshire.
2007	Reid Kerr College Award for sculpture, PAI. "Circle of Life" symposium, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Second "Clach", Kelburn Castle, Ayrshire.
2008	Holocaust memorial, Banja Bashta, Serbia.
2009	Exhibiting at Royal British Sculptors Society, London. July and August: Auld Kirk Museum, Kirkintilloch.