Adam Thomas Rees
Creation is the guiding passion of my life. For me, the creative process transcends expression and mere representation—the goal is to communicate a truth, create a soul, or an invitation into a shared experience. Creation is always a risk and a joy. The last twenty years of my life have been dedicated to the arts, but I am still exploring and pushing, finding new ways to maximize the potential of polymer clay.
All my sculptures come into being through a multi-step process of creating canes, welding the animal form, and then covering the forms in slices of the polymer clay canes. I grew up in the rural West where I was always connected to nature; animals and natural open spaces were fundamental in shaping who I am and what I value. Through color and shape I create sculpture that captures particular characteristics: the radar ears of a rabbit and its lean-ready to run frame, the lithe and playful curiosity of an otter, the stoic hardiness of a bison.
Even though I now live in Salt Lake City, UT with my wife and bossy cats, nature still is, and always will be, part of me. Whenever the conveniences, comforts, and frustrations of this mid-sized city life are too much, I return to nature, the place that shapes and informs my art.
Awards
People’s Choice Award 2022, Utah Face of Sculpture, Salt Lake City, UT: Fall Fox
Artists’ Choice Award 2021, Utah Face of Sculpture, Salt Lake City, UT: Jumper
People’s Choice Award 2021, Utah Face of Sculpture, Salt Lake City, UT: Jumper
3rd Place 2013 Polymer Clay - Gallery style, Flow Art Space, St. Paul, MN: Owl
People’s Choice Award 2013 - Gallery style, Flow Art Space, St. Paul, MN: Owl
Award of Merit, 2012 88th Springville Salon, Springville, UT: Mountain Lion
Recent Polymer Clay Shows
2022 30th annual Art in Pilar’s Garden: Selected Works
2019 Wasatch Studio Tour: SelectedWorks
2019 95th Annual Spring Salon, Springville, UT: Red Hunter
2018 The Vibrancy of Color, Canyon Road Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM: Selected Works
2016 President’s Show, SLC Community College, Salt Lake City, UT: The Boss
2016 Inverse / Outverse, Canyon Road Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM: Selected Works