Cornish-based artist creates micro-sculptures that fit in the eye of a needle

FOR talented micro-sculptor Adrian Thompson, the passion behind making tiny pieces of art that fit in the eye of a needle continues to thrive.

The 55-year-old, who is based in Par, became increasingly interested in micro-sculpting over two decades ago, gaining a fascination by the complexity and challenge of creating something so intricate and detailed.

His micro-sculpturing career started in 2004 in his hometown of Solihull, near Birmingham, when he created his first tiny piece of artwork out a gold filling.

He explained: “I started when I had a filling fall out and I sculpted it into a primitive angel. I don’t know why I did it, but it started me off on this crazy journey of sculpting micro pieces in gold. I had a fascination with it and just learn’t as I went along.”

“Each piece can take up to a year sometimes to complete, but its something that I really enjoy doing. I’ve got about 25 pieces right now in my collection.

“I’ve sold one or two of my pieces in the past but that’s never really been what I’ve been about. It will be nice to sell something, of course it would, but it’s all about the fascination and enjoyment I get out of it, especially when trying to break the boundaries of moving micro-sculptures in particular.”

Recently, Adrian has made three moving pieces which are set to exhibited at Discovering42, an interactive science centre located in Bodmin.

They include a JCB digger in the eye of a needle, with a moving front loader, as well as a Chinese waving cat which sits within the circumference of a cocktail stick. He is now in the process of creating a miniature helicopter on an eyelash which will have a spinning rota.

In the run up to Halloween, Adrian has also created a microscopic gold witch flying out of an syringe point of a needle, along with a small Cornish pixie, based on the mischievous mythical creature.

He continued: “I’ve got many pieces to entertain people covering a range of different subjects.

“I’ve got quite a big car collection and what I call a ‘007 collection’, which consists of Aston Martin wing, DBS badge, and the 007 logo, all through the eye of a needle. I’ve done pieces on Rolls-Royce and the Ferrari prancing horse before, and I’m currently making a micro-sculpture of the Jaguar logo.

“I’ve also created a standing Budda out of white gold, a Chinese god called Caishen which fits on a meteorite, and a camel through the eye of a needle so there is plenty of variety in my work.

“I’m not going to stop the collection. I want to see what other moving pieces I can make and hopefully send them to Discovering42. It would nice to get more people to see my creations and give the artwork a bit of a life.

“Finances has never been my focus, it’s been the love of doing it, and I will be continue to do it.”