Thomas Scoon Works

Artist Statement

In my work, I create figures from sequences of stone and glass. The figures rise up from the external landscape where I live, a place filled with remnants of stonewalls and glacial erratic. I gather stones from quarry rubble and from New Hampshire neighbors who allow me to choose stone from their land. The glass portions of the sculpture are combined with these found stones, suggesting human figures. I will look for a flat rock with a curved edge and tapering form to suggest torsos or the triangulation of stone with a cleft that may hint of a head.

I seek to emphasize qualities naturally present. The layering of kiln-cast glass with the stone allows light to pass through the figures and what I hope, embodies the spiritual and physical essence of human nature into the sculpture. By marrying fire and materials of earth with a modern process of casting glass, there is a fusion of composition and chance.

Given the range of scale and opportunity to group figures together, there are layers of interpersonal drama, gender, and generational concerns. The combination of materials expresses both the fragility and enduring qualities of humanity. I believe the figures are universal in that they speak directly to what is elemental rather than superficial about us and our relationships to others. 

The organic granite stones have spectacular traces of quartz, mica and iron running throughout them, and juxtaposed with the translucent glass, result in works that balance the beauty of nature and explore familial and generational relationships, both as a personal narrative and universal construct.

Professional Experience  
1991-2012 Independent Studio Artist
2003 University of New Hampshire, Adjunct Instructor, Sculpture Dept. 
1989-90 Massachusetts College of Art, Adjunct Instructor, Sculptural Glass Casting
1984 Pilchuck Glass School, Teaching Assistant, Glass Blowing

Education
Masters of Fine Art - Massachusetts College of Art, 1990
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Illinois State University, 1988