Willard Wigan: The Small Art That Leaves A Big Impression

// January 17th, 2011 // b-inspired // b-uncut

In a world where big is often best, there is one artist that is proving size really doesn’t matter…

There are many reasons why you might identify with a piece of art. It may have political undertones, be controversial or very publicly visible. Occasionally though, an artists work is so unbelievably intricate and skillfully crafted that we simply have to sit back and marvel at it. In this case, through binoculars or a telescope of some sort!

Willard Wigan is a Birmingham born artist with a difference. His art is extremely visual and impressive to look at, but is so tiny it can’t always be seen by the naked eye alone. A squint will not suffice with Wigan’s art, for the style that he has made his own is the sculpting on surfaces as small as the eye of a needle. The usual reaction of the public to these pieces is a mixture of shock, amazement and the spewing of superlatives, for which there is simply not enough.

Words really can’t do Willard’s work justice, it is actually flabbergasting what this guy can create.

It’s not just needles that Wigan works with though, the man with the steadiest of hands can create a timeless masterpiece on the head of a pin, a grain of sand or even an eye lash. Many are so small that they are completely invisible to the naked eye and have to be seen through high power magnification, begging the question – how the hell does the guy do it?

The tools of Wigan’s trade are a surgical blade and a shard of diamond, with his makeshift paint brushes made up of materials such as an eye lash and even the leg of a dead fly. It all makes you wonder how Willard found out all this was actually possible? Where do you get the inspiration to do art like this? A quiet boy with learning difficulties, Wigan spent a lot of time in the woods and became fascinated by the tiny ants scuttling around his feet. He went as far as to build them tiny little ant houses – quite an architectural feat for a young boy and one which got him hooked on his miniature design theme.

Wigan’s website is full of purchasable examples of just how far, both creatively and lucratively, his work has come. His craft demands the utmost appreciation – seeing his pieces makes you appreciate just how difficult his art must be to create. Wigan is a guy that suffers for his art too. Wigan perfectly sums up how tiny his pieces are and how difficult they must be to create in one sentence – “Once, I inhaled Alice in Wonderland.”

What do you think of Willard’s work?