The Philisophical Basis for Shaped By The Sea:

All nature is in the process of change. Our work seeks to capture the creative, chaotic and destructive process at work in nature. The beauty of change, the elegance of deterioration, the imprint of time and the signature of art as it tries to reflect and affirm life in all its amazing stages.

 

Sculptor Clancy Thompson and photographer Susan Thompson team to create fine art from overlooked and broken elements found along our North Carolina shoreline.

The Thompson's work received first place in the Wilmington “Celebration Arts Festival” in 2004. Solo shows followed at the Spadefish Gallery at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, at the T.A.G. Gallery at Lumina Station, Wilmington NC and this summer at Miss Marie's Gallery in Beaufort, NC.

Their work has also been featured in an eight page article in the December 2005 issue of Wrightsville Beach. To view the article on the magazine's own site, click here.

Sculptor's Statement:

I am drawn to the cast-about shapes of the sea, the fragments of things that once were vital and whole. These fractured remains torn and tossed by the elements are the heart of Shaped By The Sea work. The finished sculptures are small and very fragile. They will not last, they will be broken, lost, reshaped or simply returned to the oblivion of nature. Only the photogrph will remain to document and affirm the fragility, the transitory existence we all share.

Clancy Thompson

 

Wm. Clancy Thompson

Mr. Thompson holds degrees in drama from the College of Wooster, Wayne State University and Carnegie Mellon University. His career includes leadership in major arts organizations, entrepreneurial enterprises and teaching.

A constant in his work has been his interest and commitment to young people. He has worked in the schools as an artist in residence and while Director of the Performing Arts Foundation of Long Island wrote, directed and toured over 20 theatre productions with highlights including residencies at the Denver Arts Center and The Kennedy Center's Celebration Arts Festival.

As a producer at WQED television in Pittsburgh he produced and directed two award winning docu-dramas including an hour segment in the Peabody Award winning The Turned On Crisis.

His plays have been produced Off Broadway, The Performing Arts Foundation of Long Island, the Goodman/Depaul Theatre in Chicago and The Philadelphia Children's Caravan.

His publications include: Pigskin and Petticoats , a musical, book and lyrics , published by Samuel French Inc.; The Windmill at Watermill , Suffolk County, Long Island Historic Trust ; Marching on Tiananmen , NEWSDAY,NY; and a wide variety of poetry, articles and commentaries.

His sculptures, based on found items from ocean beaches, have created a new form of art based on natural imagery. In collaboration with his wife, photographer, Susan Thompson, these miniature sculptures, using micro lenses, are photographed in natural light and settings creating a second and enhanced artistic vision.

 

Susan Thompson

910-686-2550
118 Abalone Drive
Wilmington NC 28411

Multimedia Production
Photo Journalism
Portraiture
Still Life

Mrs. Thompson's accomplishments range from documentary productions and multimedia presentations to collaboration with her husband on a study about an historically significant windmill. Her photography has been honored by a one-woman show at the Sunnen Gallery in New York City, and has been featured in the Long Island, NY publication, Newsday.

Selected Projects:

  • Meadowcroft: A Summer Retreat: A slide-tape orientation presented to visitors at the summer estate of Jon Ellis Roosevelt, Sayville Long Island .

  • Canine Companions for Independence: A documentary of the boot camp training cycle of Northeast Regional Training Headquarters for the national organization teaming severely handicapped individuals with support dogs.

  • Philadelphia YWCA Fundraising Gala: A slide-tape presentation and year-end report celebrating the work of the 14 YMCA site in the Philadelphia region.

  • Calendar Photography “ Children at Play”: Developed for the Pennsylvania Competency Based Training Program.

  • Quilting on Long Island: a retrospective booklet

  • Marching on Tiananmen Square: Published Sunday Feature article: Newsday , Long Island, NY

  • The Windmill at Watermill:A historic study of a famous historic landmark, in collaboration with Wm. Clancy Thompson