Whereas before he had worked with relatively thin clay strips, he now switched to much thicker strips, which he made into upright works that seemed to be thrusting toward the sky, like sprouts breaking through the soil, or a fountain gushing forth from the rocks. In the opinion of the artist Chin Sung, in this series Lee demonstrates a spontaneous style that disregards form.
他將實心厚重的泥條直接拔起成形，有如植物衝破泥土，也有如噴泉平地而起。藝術家秦松認為李茂宗《破土而出》系列作品，神來之筆，不拘形式，不僅是「師」造化，更是「造」造化。