‘New Growth’ depicts wispy, tapered grasses and fresh pods that have recently emerged from the soil.
To create this nascent scene, steel bar was heated in the forge and shaped using my 25 lb. Little Giant power hammer which I rebuilt last summer after taking Sid Suedmeier's rebuilding class in Nebraska City. 'New Growth' measures 18” tall x 15” wide x 9” deep. Like all of my sculptures, ‘Windblown’ is designed to look good from all angles. But there's something special about 'Windblown' which makes it excel in this regard. Perhaps it's my intentional and abundant use of negative space in this piece.
Angle iron, 1/4” round rod, and steel strap have been forged and oxy-fuel welded into this windblown depiction of stylized blooms and grasses. 'Windblown' is 21” tall x 31” wide x 17” deep. It's one of my first sculptures on a stacked base, a bit of a departure from my normal approach. ‘Japanese Vine’ was inspired by Japanese Art Nouveau floral pattern design from the 1900s.
This sculpture’s base material is 1/4” round rod which has been oxy-fuel welded to depict vine forms and button pods. Measurements are 18” tall x 13” wide x 4” deep. 'From the Water' was inspired by water-side vegetation.
This sculpture has forged, tapered stems and 16-gauge hammered sheet steel ‘leaves.’ It is 19” tall x 17” wide x 9” deep. I created ‘Fresh Buds’ especially for The ContemporAry Austin’s Five x Seven event. On Wednesday, April 2, hundreds of original artworks on 5” x 7” canvases will be available for sale for $150 (or $100 for museum members). Tickets for this fundraiser can be purchased via the museum’s website.
Outliers -- such as sculptors like myself -- are also encouraged to submit artwork to the Five x Seven event. I kept my piece ‘roughly’ within the sizing guidelines. Outliers -- such as sculptors like myself -- get a little more leeway on this point... Shameless plug ALERT: At last year's event, my sculpture 'Chirp!' was amongst the few artworks "pre-selected by a Center Circle member." I forged 'Fresh Buds' on my 25-lb. Little Giant power hammer, using 1/2” square stock. This sculpture's in keeping with a ‘botanicals series’ I’m working on as of late. A gallery exhibit of my botanically inspired sculptures is on the horizon, so I'll keep you posted as that develops. Years ago, I began forming the armature for a heron task lamp. I reconsidered my lamp-making approach and put the armature aside, where it sat in my studio for half a decade.
I recently pulled that nascent form out of my scrap pile and reconsidered what I might do with it. “I’ll make a gourd,” I said to myself (out loud, because I always talk to myself out loud). I cut strips of 16-gauge sheet of varying sizes and went to work welding those strips on, along with 1/4" round rod. But try as I might to make a vegetable, a bird kept emerging. The sculptural result is 'Gordy the Bird', about 4 feet tall. Perhaps a cross between a pelican and a heron, with a gourd shaped body... but a good looking fellow all the same! ‘Exaltation’ is in tribute to an inspirational friend.
Dealing with some serious health issues, this friend maintained a positive outlook. At one point, she referenced some poetry along the lines of “Sun, kiss me like you mean it today, or I’ll be forced to cheat on you with the moon tonight.” My friend’s intentional attitude and that quote resonated with me. I imagined my friend greeting the day with arms outstretched, face to the sun, basking in the radiance of a new day, grateful to be alive. ‘Exaltation’ is the manifestation of that vision. I hope this sculpture uplifts viewers and brings inspiration. This sculpture's dimensions are 20" x 12" x 8". On Saturday evening, October 5, Third Coast Gallery in Galveston, TX, displayed a collection of my welded steel sculpture and hammered sheet vessels.
Friends and family joined me for my gallery debut and celebrated this milestone with me. I'm so grateful for their support and for making the effort to attend ArtWalk, a coordinated opening of evening receptions and art-related events at galleries and art spaces held in the heart of historic downtown Galveston. The weather was lovely, and ArtWalk had a great turnout. Third Coast Gallery had good foot traffic practically the whole time, and I sold several pieces that evening. My pieces will be on display through November 27. If you stop by, please tell Jack and Charlie hello! There’s a LOT of welding in this piece, plus texture and depth every where you look!
My guiding vision for this piece was ‘a habitat for birds.’ (One must always have a guiding vision for a piece.) Ultimately, I ended up with that habitat, as there are ‘pockets’ within the ‘branches’ where a bird could seek shelter from the cold weather. For this sculpture, I made five similarly shaped elements/pieces. The five elements were then pieced together to form the final sculpture, ‘Snowy Cedar.’ I wanted to explore how the repetition of elements brings cohesiveness to a piece. Additionally, making the sculpture in this fashion was the only way I could get the depth I wanted, all while getting access with my torch. The metal stock used in this piece are my old stand-bys: 1/4” round rod and 1/8”x1/2” strap. I oxy-fueled my tanks dry on this one!... ‘Wing’ was inspired by cicada wings delivered to me by my kitty, Tater Tot. Granted, the wings were delivered sans cidada, but I digress...
Right there on my studio's cement floor, I free-hand drew that wing's outline on an enlarged scale. I was delighted at how easily the initial shape flowed from my hand. I needed to make no modifications or tweaks. It was a good sign! With a few more strokes of the chalk, I drew in the inner lines. I was so excited that the shapes flowed so easily through my hand. I usually make my tack-and-bend sculptures with 1/4” round stock. For this piece, however, I knew that I wanted to use exclusively 1/8” x 1/2” strap. The strap’s dimensions would provide the visual depth for the wing, all while remaining thin enough on its other axis, which was critical to the final look I wanted to convey. (Does that make any sense at all, folks?...) To elevate the wing, I incorporated a forged and tapered piece of 1/2” square stock to the bottom of the wing, basically making the wing's 'stem' which, in turn, is affixed to the rectangular base of the sculpture. I sealed the piece with three coats of Permalac -- my trusted, go-to, clear lacquer -- that I use for my sculptures. ‘Wing’ measures 18” tall x 9” wide x 5” deep. |
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