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Pictured above is a variety of hammered sheet vessels, all made in preparation for my gallery debut at Third Coast Gallery in Galveston, TX. Gallery co-owners Jack Morris and his son, Charlie, liked a piece I made as a birthday gift for my mother. They asked if I could make a few more for their gallery.
For these shallow vessels, I hand-hammered 16-gauge sheet metal into the desired shape. I then affixed the legs that look best for that shape. For some reason, my vessels tend to have three legs. I guess I like the way three legs look. Regardless, the vessels are well-balanced and suitable as a curio by the door for keys, wallets, or candies. They also are pieces of artwork in their own right... I’m pleased to announce that each of these vessels includes my touchmark. I had to constantly remind myself to stamp the metal BEFORE hammering the vessel into shape! These hammered sheet vessels pictured above are about 4” tall. They range from 7-16” long, and from 4-6” wide. ‘Sprouts’ was originally designed as a hammered sheet wall hanging. I periodically review my ideas and sketches, though, and I realized how visually interesting this would be as a 3-D sculpture, able to be viewed from all angles.
Making the hammered sheet sprouts -- each one a bit different, of course! -- and attaching the flowing tack-and-bend stems was very zen. I used my wire feed welder to attach the sprouts to the C-channel steel base. I sealed the sculpture with a clear, U-V resistant lacquer. ‘Sprouts’ measures about 18” tall x 16” long x 5” deep. To me, the sprouts almost appear to be undulating, as if they’re under water. Underwater sprouts?...why not?... The inspiration for this piece came from a tassel pulled off of a Texas mountain laurel bush. I fanned the tassel out and played around with the flowing shapes that the tassel made. Was I seeing a peacock’s tail? A wave of water?
I settled upon the form you see pictured above, reminiscent of a swan’s tail, slender neck, and tucked head. I turned to Mike Drejza for the sculpture’s base. Mike, a woodworker, makes fabulous custom furniture. Be sure to check out his website. I sealed ‘Shy Bird’ with Permalac and waxed the wood base to a high shine. Final dimensions are 21" tall x 17" wide x 5" deep. My mother turned 80-something on this day. In celebration of her birthday, she received 80-something roses (one rose representing each year!). They made quite a bouquet, just as all her years have added up to a rich, full life.
She also received 'Scrap Vessel I', a piece of art I made especially for her. (I had to practically pry it from a Galveston gallery owner's hands the day before, but that's another story for another day...and a good one at that!) To begin, I pulled a hammered sheet discard from my scrap pile. I edged the piece with 1/4" round rod to give it depth. The legs were inspired by bent 1/4" round rod scraps cluttering my welding table. I LOVE the unique legs on this piece! Mother's gift came with the 'touchmark chit' in the middle photo above. I tried marking the vessel itself, but my touchmark jumped around, so it wasn't very legible. It's not as easy for me to mark my work as I thought... Overall, this piece is about 16" long, 4" deep, and about 2.5" tall. I sealed it with with clear lacquer to preserve the raw steel color. |
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