Alan Williams Metal Artist | Creatures of the Deep

The oceans of the world are vast, covering approximately 72% of the planet’s surface. Many people across the ages have travelled the seven seas in search of new worlds! The more bold at heart have sought to explore beneath the surface uncovering the mysteries of the deep. Tales abound of encounters with strange and enormous creatures, the monsters of the deep. This is the stuff that movies are made of. But it’s also the source of inspiration and expression for artists of every ilk. Alan Williams a Brighton England based metal sculptor is one such artist who is enamoured with the sea. Alan is cranking out some amazing work!

Alan teamed up with Ben Cox of Gnarled Apple Productions to produce “Creatures of the Deep” a video that chronicles Alan’s creative process from sketch to finished sculpture. This is a must see for those of us who enjoy the art of making stuff, a.k.a fabrication.

Here’s what Ben Cox had to say about the project.

“This film is the result of the wanting to create a passion project based around a local Brighton artist. The resulting film has surpassed all my original expectations both in the final product and the experience I had in making it. Working with Alan over the 6 months has been a wonderful experience and I have been exposed to an artist of great talent, imagination and humility. The project has been a wonderful collaboration, with Alan putting a lot of trust and faith in me as a filmmaker and I enjoyed every second of it”.

Alan scours local flea markets and recycling centers to find items to repurpose. His aim is to discover items that have history and character and give them a new lease on life.

In his mind’s eye Alan’s creatures begin to take shape as he sorts through the bits and pieces. Old sprockets, gears among other bits and piece become tentacles and teeth. These repurposed part provide a rich visual texture.

Allan begins his process sketching out ideas in visual notebook. Afterwards he transfers them to a full-size layout working out proportions and overall scale of the sculptural piece.

Every piece is hand-worked carefully to match the layout pattern using traditional metal-working tools.

As the sculpture takes shape Alan frequently revisits his collections of pieces-parts discovering just the right component that expresses the desired character of his creature.