I was not a student of Tom’s.  I got there a year or two after he retired but I did get to work with him.

I moved to Carbondale a few weeks early to start graduate school.  I went up to the foundry to poke around and move in some of my tools.  Tom was there working on a commission piece.  I told him I was in town early and would be willing to help if he needed it.  He asked if I had leathers.  I said yes.  He said we will be pouring bronze at 8:15 tomorrow morning.  I said I will be here.  I arrived at the foundry a little after 8:00.  The furnace was already running, and students were all in their leathers.  I went in to see what was going on and Tom said we were pouring in six minutes.  In six minutes, it would be 8:15 exactly.  The man was not kidding around.  I assumed we would all meet up at 8:15. I put my leathers on as fast as possible and I poured the bronze with one glove on.

Another time Tom asked a few students to help him move some sculptures and materials up from his basement to a moving truck.  We all met up and started moving sculpture after sculpture up the stairs.  We also moved a shit ton of bronze ingots.  Everything we moved was heavy except for a few small works.  I picked up one small bronze that was very unlike everything else we were moving.  It was a pickle/penis like shape that had another pickle for what seems like a penis, a pickle with a pickle.  I asked Tom, what’s with this piece?  He explained it was a gift for his brother in-law but he took it back because it was not displayed properly.  He said, do you like it?  I said yes, so he said you can have that piece and you others can pick out anything you like as part of your payment for helping.  The other two students picked out these really big pieces and Tom agreed they could have them.  I was immediately jealous of the bigger works the others had picked but over the years I have grown to love this little work.

Tom always treated me like I was one of his students.  I have a lot of respect for him and his work.