Building a Fantasy Universe with Ceramics, Writing and Digital art
By Philip Thomas

Philip was our winter ceramics resident, living and working at Castle Hill from January - March, 2021 with 24 hour access to his own studio space on our main campus. His pieces are hand built and fired using the raku method and are currently open to inquiry. Please email sarahkai@castlehill.org if you are interested in purchasing.

Philip Thomas is a ceramic artist born in South Windsor Connecticut and has been sculpting since he was four years old. In 2019 Philip received a BFA in Ceramics and Sculpture, with a Minor in Art History from the University of Hartford. In 2020 he completed a post-bac program from the same University. Philip’s work revolves around the Scifi Fantasy fictional narrative that he is writing. In December of 2017, Philip was encouraged by one of his professors to pursue making his own universe, and his work has been about creating this enormous project ever since. In his work, Philip focuses on using the firing process of raku to create otherworldly artifacts and objects, bringing them to life from his worlds. In addition to creating sculptures, Philip is writing a novel about his worlds, which he hopes to grow into a series.

Learn more about Philip’s work at PhilipThomasArt.com

Learn more about ceramic residencies at Castle Hill.

“I am creating my own universe within a Sci Fi Fantasy narrative that deals with issues of spirituality, the growth of technology, aspects of racism, the threat of extinction, the corrupting nature of power and greed, and the teachings of morality. Through the different mediums of ceramics, drawing, writing and 3d software I am able to use my skill sets in hand-building, glazing, raku firing, modeling in 3d and rendering to create a world in which to explore these themes. My time is spent designing these characters, their appearances, clothing, beliefs, religions, triumphs and tragedies. Creating maps, ideologies, and using our history to help tell the story of another world from all that has happened in nature.”