Nature at its finest, creating life from debris and detritus....
...all it takes is a little bit of sunshine.
Photo courtesy of Wombat.
Nature Prevails...
Nature at its finest, creating life from debris and detritus....
...all it takes is a little bit of sunshine.
Photo courtesy of Wombat.
Unsung Heroes of Art
Recently I have started
working a new piece, as a gift for a friend who runs an opticians in the Midlands....
It will be in time, a
glasses stand, lost wax cast in stainless steel with a fabricated
stainless steel stand. When complete, I hope it will exude an air of
grace and elegant simplicity - it's loosely styled around a modern take on the art
deco ethos (clearly the mock up doesn't portray the intended elegance
at this stage!) with razor sharp edges and super smooth flat angular surfaces.
What has struck me during these early stages, despite
the size and relative simple design, is the number of processes that
as a sculptor, I have no control over but have total reliance upon.
Thus far, I've had to employ the services of a foundry master,
pattern maker and an engineer, all for a piece less than 6” tall.
In days gone by of course,
more traditional sculptors would have the facilities (and skills) to
complete works entirely in house, perhaps with apprentices in schools
– all well and good for bronzes and works in marble or stone. I
guess this is still true of some sculptors, the lucky ones will still
be surrounded by the elements needed to create works from inception
to completion.
However, the majority of more modern works
require an entirely different set of skills, so the sculptor is more
likely to rely on external service providers.
The Angel of
the North (AntonyGormley) suffers
sometimes from clichés and over analysis, it’s certainly a
favourite of mine, for its scale if nothing else.
Ignore for the
moment the piece itself, whatever your opinion of it may be. What
struck me more than anything else when I went was the
engineering….the weather was such that just standing up was a
significant challenge and yet the piece, with it’s enormous wings
(50 tons each!) was entirely un-ruffled by the British climate.
Surely, although the
artist clearly deserves credit, the forgotten heroes in the piece
have to be the manufacturers, Hartlepool Steel Fabrications
Ltd - it’s the talent from this workshop that ensures the sculptors
vision is still there for all of us to form an opinion on.
Disturbing architecture and in-comprehensible science
Why is it that some things just seem wrong, when science tells us they're actually quite right.
Take this picture, taken recently at the Gloucester Waterways Museum at Gloucester docks.
Are you, like I was, struck by the concrete boat in the middle?
Does it seem quite wrong to make a boat out of concrete? The wooden boat on the left feels comfortable...normal, the steel boat similarly so, but concrete...?
It's simple density of course, but still, the concrete seems wrong......
.......odd when you consider concrete has an average density of 2,500kg per cubic meter and steel has a density of around 8,000kg per cubic meter, so actually concrete has a greater propensity to float than steel.....and yet would you be comfortable boarding a cross channel ferry made of concrete...?
It's not only science that can baffle and fool in this way. Here's a picture of Moreton Corbet Castle in rural Shropshire. Note how the windows are odd sizes (left to right and top to bottom), off centre, with mullions, corbels, stonework and other details all out of alignment....
It is quite the most disturbing piece of architecture I've ever experienced, making one feel quite uncomfortable, and yet it's hard to leave it, the mind is somehow drawn to the total imbalance..and the more one looks, the more one finds to be "wrong" and the more harrowing the experience becomes.
Take a visit and try it, for want of a better word, it's very weird
It is a trick well worth exploring in art and sculpture, the ability to use both science and nature to create the intriguing effect of discomfort, because in both examples, the effect is lure the viewers attention and hold them in a studied trance.
Take this picture, taken recently at the Gloucester Waterways Museum at Gloucester docks.
Are you, like I was, struck by the concrete boat in the middle?
Does it seem quite wrong to make a boat out of concrete? The wooden boat on the left feels comfortable...normal, the steel boat similarly so, but concrete...?
It's simple density of course, but still, the concrete seems wrong......
.......odd when you consider concrete has an average density of 2,500kg per cubic meter and steel has a density of around 8,000kg per cubic meter, so actually concrete has a greater propensity to float than steel.....and yet would you be comfortable boarding a cross channel ferry made of concrete...?
It's not only science that can baffle and fool in this way. Here's a picture of Moreton Corbet Castle in rural Shropshire. Note how the windows are odd sizes (left to right and top to bottom), off centre, with mullions, corbels, stonework and other details all out of alignment....
It is quite the most disturbing piece of architecture I've ever experienced, making one feel quite uncomfortable, and yet it's hard to leave it, the mind is somehow drawn to the total imbalance..and the more one looks, the more one finds to be "wrong" and the more harrowing the experience becomes.
Take a visit and try it, for want of a better word, it's very weird
The last mushroom...
So, after a beer bottle opener in various guises followed by a corkscrew, one
would be forgiven for assuming I have a drink problem. Well, to prove
otherwise, here is the last of the "Useful Mushroom" range.
These salt and pepper pots are made in a similar fashion to the previous entries and the set finish off the range.....for now. It's been a lot of fun, and a huge challenge to machine and produce. The bases, as before are turned from solid stainless, bead blasted, electro-polished and engraved, and the tops are turned from solid red nylon. What with all that, plus adding the "spots" and infilling the lettering, they've taken a lot of effort to complete....worth it though, they look great on the table.
I have had other suggestions, appreciated of course (keep them coming) - these are filed for a future return but I have other more poignant works in mind that I really must start working on.
Soon to be on my web site as a limited edition (I only have 4 pairs) so if you want a set, grab one quick!
Selfish sculpture
This steel egg is a piece of work that I made entirely
for myself.
The egg is another one of mother natures astounding
shapes, seeming to convey solidity and softness in equal measures, with perfect simplicity and beauty. However, despite this, to almost everyone this piece is largely meaningless
– the turning of the solid stainless billet deserves some credit
perhaps, but other than that, it really has no significance at all.
However, my surname is Steel, and I am soon to be
blessed with my first child, and for that alone this is possibly the
most personally significant piece I've ever created.....it represents
my unborn son in his womb.
It will feature on the website in due course.