HistoryHello, I'm T. J. (Tom) Aitken, Sculptor, Designer and Professional Creative.I've been sculpting since I was a kid. I have had the pleasure of modeling show cars in Detroit and managing groups of sculptors. I also do consulting with companies who need a shot of creativity when they are starting a new project. I have workshops on creativity subjects like; Supercharging Thought Process, Thinking 3D, Analysis of Form, and Craftsmanship, and can facilitate group creativity workshops. People ask: "How do you get a job like that?" This is my professional bio. In italic type I also include my personal side because this is key to understanding my passions, and capabilities. 06 to Now: I use automobiles and other forms in outdoor works, as well as portraiture and multi-media constructions. I've been a University lecturer at international schools. My wife Sarah and I run Novus Resource studio in Michigan. We are committed Christians and work with international teams on logistics, planning and creative process. 04 to 05 Creativity for Industry I worked as an industrial design director for Johnson Controls, a $30 billion, fortune 300 company primarily in automotive. There I studied the emerging field of creativity management and assessment. I worked with some of the nations top creative people. In May, 05, I spoke at the "Front end of innovation" conference in Boston about my process. I began working with faith based start ups in Texas, Michigan and Indonesia on applied creativity during this time creating tools for boosting creativity in the creator's church. 2000 to 04 Aesthetic Analysis - Craftsmanship Prior to the creativity assignment I developed the company's Craftsmanship Analysis System. Which has been Patented and imitated by other major manufacturers in appliances and automobiles. This provided the entire company with clear definitions of terms for aesthetics a measurement system and an "up front" control process. A key to this success was the creation of interactive teaching tools that I used to train some 4000 engineers. I traveled to Europe, Japan, Korea, and China with these workshops. I published papers on analysis with the University of Michigan's engineering department. The sculpture meadow near my home began in this period, with the car installations, and I began to experiment with color formulas for cement casting of sculptural objects. The themes of portraiture and auto influences on society merged into larger works. Late 90s - Europe - Studio building, and lectures I worked as a design manager and developed workshops on "Analysis of Form" for design groups. In 1998 the family moved to Europe. There I was part of a team developing a new design studio that worked with BMW, Audi, Fiat, and many European car- makers. I recruited, set up facilities, and methodologies for studio operations. I received patents on product designs. My wife, Sarah and I saw and studied the major art collections throughout Europe. Our teenagers finished their final years of high school there. I was a lecturer and consultant to the University of Hertfordshire School of Art and Design and worked with teams from the Instituto Eurpeo Design in Milan. Early 90s - Computers for Sculptors My task at JCI prior to Europe was to manage the transition from clay design models into computer aided industrial design. This required educational strategies, recruiting, tech assessment and purchasing. The former Prince Corporation design group grew from 25 people to nearly 200 worldwide during this period. Sarah developed concepts for home schooling that she used with our children. She created a method for individualized student assessment and custom curriculum development that she then applied with many families. Together we created Novus Resource Inc. to run the school and the art studio. Students graduated from the school with high school diplomas. We worked together on the concept of Zero Based Learning. I was on the Board of Directors for the American Professional Model Makers Society, and lead the local Congressional Arts Competition. 80s 87, 88, 89, I worked in a variety of Detroit shops as a contract Design Sculptor doing show cars and intricate wind tunnel models. The Prince Company moved us to West Michigan in 89. We had established Contemporary Studios in Colorado 1980. This company marketed our work and did development and reproduction for other artists and artisans, including pewter miniatures, bronze museum replicas, character dolls, toy and kit development and manufacture. I was elected Mayor of our small town in 83, and attracted development funds, obtained grants and saw many community improvements. Our children were born in the Rockies. Here we also developed spiritually and began working with churches and home school concepts. In 1987 the family came back to Michigan. 70s I was a craftsman working in Detroit in die models, boats, displays and experimental plastics. I learned precision 3D techniques and development methods for all kinds of objects. Always a political activist, I worked my way through school with two internships for the Detroit city council and jobs at the university sculpture studio, where I cast bronzes, and did some video documentary. I met and married Sarah at University and then graduated with a BFA cum laude in Sculpture from Eastern Michigan University in 1977. We moved to Colorado where we ran a production jewelry casting operation, I tooled a fiberglass kit car, and I was contracted to build an art bronze foundry. All in all it has been a blessed journey. I'd like your project to become part of the story too. Thanks, Tj |