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Taking it to a higher level
- By Josh Welton
- December 7, 2018
Earlier this year I shared a post about the necessity for artists and tradespeople to step out of their comfort zone to grow their skills. One of the examples I gave was of a sculpture that marked a departure from my past pieces, my take on an iconic Detroit landmark.”
In that post, I said, “I’ve been working on a scale model of “The Fist,” a Robert Graham sculpture memorializing Joe Louis that resides in Downtown Detroit. It’s a commissioned piece and very much unlike most projects I’ve tackled thus far. Not only is it a replica, but it’s of the human form. Replicas aren’t my thing; I know other artists who do that type of work, and I’m more than happy to stick with my slightly more abstract style. And the human body is difficult to build, to get the proportions and angles just right from every view. But for whatever reason, this particular venture attracted me. The idea of doing something different always is enticing at first.”
At the time I posted pics of the sculpture as a work-in-progress. In fact, my wife Darla thought it looked cool as it sat, although it didn’t quite yet represent what the client was looking for.
I kept pushing forward, which can sometimes be difficult if I kind of dig where the art is. In my experience, however, there’s that nagging part of my brain that won’t let me settle and would fester like a sliver just under my skin if I did.
So, the welding and brazing and grinding and shaping continued. The bones of the piece, quite literally, were chunks of cast iron from an old grill. As I TIG welded, brazed them together, and then filled out the sculpture, I used a variety of filler metals, including mild and stainless steel, gas welding rod, and both silicon and aluminum bronze. There was a lot of cracking going on due to the different properties of the metals, but if nothing else, they added character to “The Fist.”
One of the visually appealing results of the eclectic mix of materials was the coloring on the surface of the sculpture. Brightly hued oxidization ranged from purples and blues and reds to gold and silver; they popped when I sanded down the piece before it cooled.
While the in-progress version I showed earlier looked pretty neat, the finished piece literally caused me to emit a deep, evil laugh. That’s typically a decent personal indicator that I’ve leveled up with my work. The client was superstoked about it too, just as I hope you are!
All images courtesy of Josh Welton, Brown Dog Welding.
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