Civic Trust enjoys an evening with Tim Pomeroy

On the evening of March 29th, Arran Civic Trust hosted an illustrated talk in the Ormidale Pavilion by Arran’s distinguished sculptor, Tim Pomeroy. All present were both entertained and richly informed by what he had to say. After recounting the slow process by which his artistic career took shape over some eight years – from Latin scholar at Hamilton Academy, via varied stints teaching and lecturing, to his emergence as a full-time freelance painter and sculptor – Tim went on to describe the various projects and commissions in which he has been involved.

As he talked, those present gained fascinating and valuable insights into the creative process, Tim’s sources of inspiration in, for example, nature, geology and archaeology (but also such everyday objects as string), and the technicalities and difficulties of working with materials such as granite and bronze. His talk was tellingly illustrated throughout with photographs. It would take too long here to cite all the examples of Tim’s work that were covered, but the audience will certainly have taken special note of local examples, such as the fascinating sculptures in Merkland Wood, and some major off-island works, particularly the font he made for St Andrew’s Cathedral in Glasgow, with its wonderful frieze of figures waiting to be baptised in the Jordan. This alone involved some five hundred hours work. There was also a spellbinding account of the technical feat involved in drilling a pathway for the continuous flow of water.

It was interesting to learn that the commissioning of this font was suggested to the Archbishop by an earlier one that Tim had created for Provand’s Lordship. With other commissions for such patrons as the Duke of Devonshire, Carnoustie Golf Club and Cawdor Castle (a four-and-a-half metre Tree of Life in bronze), as well as exhibitions in leading London galleries, Tim Pomeroy’s reputation has spread well beyond Arran, and the island is fortunate to be his base. It would be difficult to sum up his versatile talent in a nutshell, but perhaps one key to his wide appeal is the observation that he uses traditional materials, but in a modern idiom.