Duncan MacDiarmid
How did you start sculpting and when?
When I turned 8 my parents gave me a workbench made from an inverted coal bin. They put a small vise on it, gave me some wood, a saw, and an old-fashioned hand drill. I guess that was when I started to make things.
What are your main interests when creating a sculpture?
In my portraits, I search to portray a particular inner strength of an individual, this might be joy, resolve, wisdom, humor, etc.
My mixed media work generally relates to the natural environment. My interest here is to convey a particular awareness or idea.
What is your favorite material to use?
Materials fascinate me. Everything has its own qualities and characteristics. It’s exciting to discover how things can be manipulated and then combined with other materials. I recently learned how to weld – it’s amazing how you can instantly tack steel together with a drop of molten metal!
How long does it take to create a portrait?
A lifetime of investigation and advancement goes into making a portrait. For me, it has been a constant push to become better. In concrete terms, a quick, sketch-like portrait can be done in 4-6 hours. Refinement and details can blow that number to well over 100 hours
When I turned 8 my parents gave me a workbench made from an inverted coal bin. They put a small vise on it, gave me some wood, a saw, and an old-fashioned hand drill. I guess that was when I started to make things.
What are your main interests when creating a sculpture?
In my portraits, I search to portray a particular inner strength of an individual, this might be joy, resolve, wisdom, humor, etc.
My mixed media work generally relates to the natural environment. My interest here is to convey a particular awareness or idea.
What is your favorite material to use?
Materials fascinate me. Everything has its own qualities and characteristics. It’s exciting to discover how things can be manipulated and then combined with other materials. I recently learned how to weld – it’s amazing how you can instantly tack steel together with a drop of molten metal!
How long does it take to create a portrait?
A lifetime of investigation and advancement goes into making a portrait. For me, it has been a constant push to become better. In concrete terms, a quick, sketch-like portrait can be done in 4-6 hours. Refinement and details can blow that number to well over 100 hours
Biography
Duncan's childhood was spent in Philadelphia where he later studied architecture and then received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. For many years Duncan worked primarily as a figurative sculptor with a focus on portrait sculpture. He has created public and private sculptures for libraries, churches, and universities in bronze, terracotta and polymers. His recent work has ventured into mixed media with sculptures that comment on human perceptions of the natural and manmade environment. Duncan lives and works in Pittsburgh on a hillside overlooking the Allegheny River.