Learning to weld in a shipyard

Wanting to transition from two-dimensional art to three-dimensional, Matt Wilson mustered the courage to apply for a welding job at Detyens Shipyards Inc. in Charleston. He was hired not as a production welder, but instead as the shipyard’s resident artist. It was there he learned to weld and honed his craft.

Charleston, S.C., artist Matt Wilson needed a change. After spending time studying painting and drawing at Winthrop University, Wilson left school to try something different, something that would ease the burnout he was feeling toward art.

He’d always wanted to work in metal and three dimensions, but he just didn’t have the money for equipment or the expertise to run it. That’s when an idea hit to interview at Detyens Shipyards Inc. in Charleston. He’d learn to weld, earn a living, and who knows what could come from that?

He interviewed, met some of the right people, and ended up being introduced to D. Loy Stewart, the shipyard board chairman.

“I told him that I wanted to get a job welding so that I could learn how to do it to make sculptures,” Wilson said.

That honesty paid off. Instead of hiring Wilson as a welder, Stewart hired him as the shipyard’s resident artist. The company gave him a small shop space and paired him with someone who helped him pick out the equipment he’d need and taught him how to use it.

While learning how to use the equipment, Wilson spent the first year as resident artist photographing the ships that came in for overhaul and creating a drawing based on the photo. The drawings were then presented to the ship owner after overhaul was complete.

In that time Wilson learned how to weld, grind, and use other metalworking tools in between drawing ships. After a year he was comfortable enough to begin fabricating metal scale models of ships that came in for overhaul.

It’s been 10 years, and in that time he’s honed his metalworking skills enough to be able to fabricate sculptures that he wants to build. It’s the merging of two worlds that not a lot of artists have the freedom to do. Wilson realizes that and is incredibly grateful for the chance he was given.

When he’s not making ships, Wilson is fabricating birds (his favorite) or making commissioned sculptures using upcycled materials under his brand, Airtight Artwork. It’s what he considers to be his real gig, and the shipyard doesn’t mind.

“As long as I keep up with my ships, I have a shop here and I can use it to make whatever I want.”

When he’s not making ships, Wilson is fabricating birds (his favorite) or making commissioned sculptures using upcycled materials like flatware, for example. It’s what he considers to be his real gig, and the shipyard doesn’t mind.

Finding Success in the Struggle

Learning to weld, whether it be for the ships or his own personal work, wasn’t easy.

“I was just burning through everything. I had no idea what I was doing. So when I started making sculptures, I thought all my welds were really ugly.”

He admits he became very good at grinding in that time, but was still disappointed in how distracting the welds were on his pieces.

“That’s when I honed my style to hide the welds. Even now you don’t see a lot of welds because I like to layer and hide them.”

The most commonly used material for his personal work is flatware that he finds at thrift stores. He started with it originally because he received a bag of flatware from his mother. It was metal, after all, and the material was free.

“I solidified my art in the flatware just in case the shipyard gig didn’t work out for me. That’s the honest reason. It’s cheap, and I can find it all of the time.”

So why birds? Simple. He likes them. He’s pays attention to birds and gets excited when he sees one he’s never seen before.

Fans of his work seem to love his bird sculptures as well. In fact, in late 2017 the website Bored Panda asked for permission to publish photos of his work. From there two other websites, My Modern Met and Colossal, published posts about his work as well. The posts went viral, with 13 million views.

Almost immediately emails and messages flooded Wilson’s Etsy page, Facebook page, Instagram account, and personal website. Roughly 2,500 emails arrived in the span of 10 days. It was madness and overwhelming.

“We sold out of everything. We took 15 commissions and I just spaced them out over two years; that way if something else comes up, I can find time to do it. It changed everything.”

Social media has been a powerful tool for Wilson’s brand. Since a whirlwind finish to 2017 when photos of his sculptures went viral on social media, he has spent the first few months of 2018 rebuilding his inventory. He also accepted 15 commission projects and will complete those over the next two years.

Wilson’s spent most of 2018 so far rebuilding his inventory, and he is booked with commissioned projects through December 2019.

It’s been a wild ride that’s been somewhat nontraditional, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Matt Wilson, 864-419-1828, www.airtightartwork.com