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An interesting puzzle but I must say that I'm not 100% happy with clue 1d. The wordplay feels rather tenuous when looking at the relevant definition in Chambers - the first two words of the clue seem to only tangentially define what is intended.

I am in the "8 pieces of artwork" camp, for what it's worth. A shame that there is some ambiguity about the endgame.

I don't have a problem with 1d because of the 'perhaps'. The Chambers options fit. It's a term I use for the process because that's what they do. Ouch.

I'm in the 4 camp but I don't submit so don't worry about end games. I can't imagine they'll exclude 8s though given the wording.

Thanks Will37 and to numbskull. On to the next stage: misprints and artwork

Kitsune - #51 - have you had it done recently?

All done, and artworks completed in the 3/8 (or8/3) fashion. Helped to PDM for the left hand column by my specialised education under the Ven. Sid Pask many, many years ago, so it popped out long before I'd needed to look for the supplementary 5 -letter thematic adjective, which I found by reverse engineering.

The bottom row followed fairly straightforwardly - but I still can't see where the 5 supplementary leyyers for that come from - the preamble is coy; is it another thematic adjective, anagrammed? I can't make the letters that must be added make anything.
Can someone give me a gentle hint, please?

I have to confess that I couldn't make pairs from the 14 thematic words - and instead of 4 & 3 - as the preamble - I had 8 of one fecund sort (thus the 8 artworks), plus 6 of the other variety.
Incomprehension on this detail for me; but fortunately it doesn't seem to matter in getting to a submissible solution.

And what's all this about a rhyme or saying that people keep referring to? I can think of a relevant simile that fits the theme, but can see no direct reference whatever to it in either the preamble, the revealed message, the grid - or the title, which I assume is a shorthand reference to what the thematic person did with their pivotal material to get their results. Or am I being obtuse?

Oops! - para 2 line1 'letters' - of course. No chickens in this one.

Oh - and thanks, Karla.

The letters needed to complete the bottom row have no other significance (and I can't see anything in the preamble to suggest they might).

I agree with everything else - that's how I read the title, I can't see the relevance of the rhyme, and when I see a request for 'artwork' I expect it to be the kind that looks like the object in question. Cubism is beyond the range of crosswords, generally (but there's always a first time}.

Thanks mattrom, but nothing’s springing to mind. I’ll have a trawl through Chambers once it’s dried out (my 9yo spilled a glass of water all over it)

6d - There's a separate entry for the plural in Chambers.