Metal Sculpture
Materials:
- 2×2′ sheet metal
- 10 ft rod
Objective: Using all of the sheet metal and 10 ft. of rod, create an abstract sculpture which contains welding and a minimum of 3 pop rivets. The sculpture must stand on three points.
In the beginning, the class watched demonstrations on how to use all of the tools in the sculpture room. This ranged everything from the drills to the plasma cutter. Next, we were assigned a small project: to create a paper model of our sculpture. Doing this helped me to develop the design of my sculpture in a hands on way. It also showed me how using all of the sheet metal would be a difficult task, and I really needed to plan ahead. After getting a few opinions on my design, I decided that I needed to find a better way to unify the piece. It looked very industrial on the bottom, yet very organic and free-looking on the top. I needed to find a way to tie it all together to look like one piece.
I redesigned it to look like this: a pattern of alternating triangles encompassing a cylinder which is “continued” or “implied” to continue above the actual sculpture using the line of the rod which will keep wrapping around the nonexistent cylinder.
Next off, after passing a welding test, I began to tackle my sheet metal. I created the cylinder shape by rolling the sheet metal and doing three tack welds to hold it together. I asked for some help to learn how to use the heat torch in order to bend my metal rod around the cylinder. This process consisted of me walking around the cylinder and holding it at the desired angle while it was being heated. This process really allowed me to see how the torch works and to learn the finish it leaves on the metal.
I cut rectangular pieces of sheet metal which would act as the “legs” to my sculpture. I used the band saw to cut slits into each. This proved to be challenging because it had to fit perfectly! I sanded the edges down to help it fit on the bottom of my sculpture more smoothly.
I experienced some difficulty in deciding what I wanted to do with the remainder of my rod. I had about 18 inches left to use. I finally decided to cut it into multiple small pieces to be used on my sculpture at the end.
First, though, I had to cut my triangles which would eventually be welded around the rod. If I exceeded at any part in this process, I believe using the band saw was my strength. Unlike many of the other people in the class, I found it fairly easy to get a straight edge and to follow the pencil lines I had measured out.
After sanding each edge, I proceeded to weld each of the triangles onto the sculpture, which was incredibly challenging to try and get between the triangles and the rod. It was definitely a learning experience. For the finish on my sculpture, I decided to use contrasting finishes. I kept the heated-cylinder and sandblasted all of the triangles.
If I could have improved anything throughout this process: I would have triple checked my measurements. One of the problems I faced arose when I found myself short of triangles (although I had measured out approximately how far I should have spaced each one) and ended up having to space them out near the top. This is where the small pieces of rod came in handy. I used them to fill some of the gaps between the triangles to make my mistake less obvious.
Overall, I am not overly pleased with the outcome. I recognize that it is my first attempt, though, and I am glad that I learned a lot throughout the process. During critique, I admired a lot of the work done by my classmates, but almost each and every one had something I would have done differently. Lastly, I received comments as follows:
- “I like the matte finish put against the iridescence of the inside metal. Adds contrast.”
- “It’s very consistent with its form and composition.”
- “Contrast of finishes keeps the pieces interesting – great layering.”
- “I love the use of different shapes and how it keeps the eye moving. The finish works great. It’s a little closed though, maybe if there were some openings it would improve.”
- “My eye travels with the piece, and the rod brings me beyond the sculpture.”
- “Maybe using some less predictable patterns would have improved this sculpture.”