Like his "make-ups" of blues songs, Thomas created original sculpture through a "future" or dream of an image that he rendered as art. He reflected on the creative process through which he shaped both his music and sculpture:
"When I do my sculpturing work, things just roll across my mind. Like I see a picture in a magazine or on television, and that's what I'll go by. Sometimes I may not get it direct [exact], but I make it as far as I can remember on it. I look at the picture to get the future of it better The future . . . that means if I was going to make a man that looked just like you, that would recollect you. The futures come in dreams. The dreams just come to me. I lay down and dream about the sculpture I'm liable to dream anything. That gives you in your head what to do. Then you get up and try. If you can't hold it in your head, you can't do it in your hand."
