The Collegian

Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Arts

Large tattoos of childish drawings cover his arms. A few calluses cover his burly fingers.

Tad McKillop likes to work with his hands.

Well into his third year as an adjunct instructor of art at Hillsdale College, sculptures of mythical characters litter his small office, lending it a museum quality. "The Birth of Adam" a cracking lifeless being slowly becoming man sits to his left; "Night," a sculpture of the mythic deity he has remade several times, stands behind him.

A Detroit native, McKillop moved to New York in the '90s to study art, where he discovered his love for sculpture. Following an apprenticeship, he started a sculpting business. Together, he and his wife renovated their Ann Arbor garage into a studio and eventually built a foundry near their home.

Now he gets up at 4 a.m. every day to pursue his passion.

"When the kids were little those were the quiet hours," he said. "I like working with my hands, being able to do things myself."

Watching McKillop at his work, it's easy to see the fascination. And it carries over into his teaching.

Students like senior art major Tricia Schoon appreciate McKillop's classroom approach.

"Tad's great," she said. "Every time I see him in the studio, he is so laid back and relaxed."

In his upper-level classes, McKillop focuses on teaching the art of the figurative nude.

"The human body is so expressive," he said. "Change a few limbs and everything is suddenly different."

His students agreed the nude figure brings a new aspect to sculpting.

"The human body is the hardest thing to do," Schoon said. "I never thought I could learn, but Tad taught me about line and figure."

A large, seven- or eight-foot sculpture can take a year to complete, McKillop said. After sculpting the model in clay, he casts it in rubber and fills it with wax. Finally, he covers it in molten bronze and melts the wax.

It's a labor-intensive process. Fiona, McKillop's younger daughter, says sometimes she and her older sister, Maggie, watch their father at work.

McKillop's family has always been important, he said. He clearly loves the quirks of his home life.

"In our family," he said, "there's never a dull moment."

When Maggie was five, she drew a picture for daddy. He eventually had it tattooed onto his arm. Four years later, Fiona's drawing followed.

"Maggie did it; then Fiona wanted to try too," he said.

His daughters, now 11 and 15, continue to follow in their artistic father's footsteps.

"One year we made bronze snowmen for Christmas presents," Maggie said.

McKillop's mechanical expertise extends outside the foundry to motorcycles, having restored several Harley-Davidson motorcycles. His current favorite has flames curling around the sides.

A few years ago, his girls helped him restore a 1958 Volkswagen Bug before pulling out the paintbrushes and decorating the car with brightly colored flowers.

At Hillsdale, McKillop keeps himself busy with sculpting and teaching three days a week. His classes are always full - 30 students sit under his instruction, 20 of them in sculpture.

Although he will leave next fall when Artist-Teacher Anthony Frudakis returns from sabbatical, McKillop has left his mark on the department, as well as on the work of students like Schoon.

"He taught me to sculpt," she said.


See Tad McKillop's work on his Web site by clicking here

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