Favored production techniques

[obseq]

<<<It made me want to cast even though I don't really like the process. >>>


Russ mentioned this in another thread regarding Araich's steel maquette and it left me wondering: What are some of your most trusted techniques..?


In different threads regarding object production, some people seem to favor wax-casting, plaster-casting, found-objects, or 3-D modeling, among other methods.


What methods do you all prefer and why?

[sculptorsam]

I have a rather particular technique I use to form steel into irregular, organic forms. I use quarter inch rod to form an armature that corresponds to the surface of the final form. Then, I use a Beverly Shears to cut 16 ga. steel to correspond to the various openings of the armature. Pre-bend them to fit curves, etc. and weld the seams solid. Grind the seams down and a smooth surface is formed. This allows large, irregular forms to be created with a minimum of material, though perhaps a maximum of time.

I tried to make this as clear as I could, but perhaps pictures would help. Check out my "Birth of a Sculpture" section on my website for more info:

http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/sculptorsam/birth2.html

Sam

[Araich]

Originally posted by obseq
What methods do you all prefer and why?

I'm a fan of assemblage + fabrication.

I don't really use found objects as such, but I make up elements, then assemble them like a freestanding collage. This means cutting and altering elements as I go, and creating new ones to suit.

When it 'gells' and it's obvious anything else I add or do will lessen it, I weld it up.

Then I stare at it, and think about going into therapy. http://www.artwise.com.au/images/spineyes.gif

Mostly, I just start a new one.

[obseq]

Originally posted by sculptorsam
I have a rather particular technique I use to form steel into irregular, organic forms. I use quarter inch rod to form an armature that corresponds to the surface of the final form.

Sam



Wow--Seeing the size of your work from your website, the fact that you start with a to-scale armature for use in the final form is impressive.

Did you begin this technique with smaller-scaled armatures by chance?

[sculptorsam]

I actually started it when I was in high school making eagles out of steel. I would form the body out of rod and cover with individual steel "feathers."

As for the larger pieces now, I don't make a smaller maquette to work off of. Everything is done in the final scale the first time. I find it easier to work that way, but you do have to have the final form rather securely in mind or it would be easy to get lost.

Since the whole work is still fabricated, it is very easy to combine hard-edged, geometric forms with more organic sections. Anything you want to do, really. That is why I like it so much.

Sam

[jsimms]

My work is exclusively fabricated and generally flows from design concept to rhino 3d (www.rhino3d.com) drawing to cut parts to forming and welding. The unroll feature of rhino gives me the ability to know exactly how a part must look prior to forming and also gives me a file of the various parts that can be exported to a cutting machine, be it plasma, waterjet or whatever.

Some parts have no margin for error, such as the 24 identical parts making up the 8 faces of the attached rhino rendering of "Imploding Octahedron". If these parts were not identical, the faces would not fit together!
See my site (www.johnesimms.com) for production shots of a similar piece.
john

[obseq]

So is all of your fabrication done by computer?

I was not sure if the "exclusivity" you mentioned also included the programming specific cuts.

[jsimms]

Not! Actually, the designing is done in my head, generally between 4 and 6AM. Then I go to the computer to draw up the design. Thus begins a number of hours at the computer spinning off in different directions and ending up with perhaps 30 variants of the original design. When I finally decide on a final form, I lay out patterns of the various parts. Depending on the size and complexity of the part, I will plasma cut it either by hand or on the computer controlled plasma table. After cutting, everything else is done by hand. Grinding, forming, welding, more grinding, finishing etc.

I do end up doing quite a bit of seat of the pants engineering, especially if the piece is "supposed" to rotate in the wind.

I have developed a unique method of anchoring even very large pieces to the ground, but I'll save that for a thread of its own. It would be of interest at least to sculpturesam and araitch, and any others who might do large and primarily tall pieces.
john

[sculptorsam]

Now I am intrigued...

I say go ahead and start the thread.

Sam

[Araich]

Originally posted by sculptorsam
I say go ahead and start the thread.
I concur!

[nero]

coulnt resist this one; araich. A wonderful image of you hurling your latest onto the heap. I too am a fabricator: process depends on scale and inspiration. my latest exie had work similar in process to sculptor sam; organic form welded from heated sheet steel ( 3mm or 1\8 in plate ). the number of small pieces becomes significant, in the way that a certain plant or root has a numerical
and geometric code specific to it.

ie. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21......

oh and thats flame welded with oxy acy gas.

Big stuff gets the arc welder and really should be maqetted first, but its nice to play.

I love painting on the steel and then burning it off. ( i wear a good respirator)

check out images at nz art monthly.co (may 2003) if yr interested.

[Araich]

Hey Nero, I couldn't find the article your refering to - could you dig up a link for us?
Also, what's the gallery scene for sculpture like there? Any good galleries?

[nero]

araich; try www.nzartmonthly.co.nz reviews july 2003.


The gallery scene up in the north of the north island is proliferating. Most of the population of nz live in Auckland, about
1.3 million people. There are half a dozen high end dealers ( with international standards) and at least two dozen second tier galleries (professional , montly turnaround of shows, limited number of artists represented) and many ad hock galleries. There are two major art galleries and a museum that has exhibitions on a regular basis. There are also 5 or 6 community galleries through the region which exhibit everything from macrame to installation video.

A lot of the art in nz is concerned with self definition of a colonized country by the colonizers (pakeha) and maori and the new migrants arriving here. This creates a lively interest in the arts.

[Araich]

You're Neil Miller?

[nero]

yes; most of the time

[Araich]

Good to meet you. I like your work, and have forwarded that review to some friends here.
How do you find Artis Gallery (private message me if you like).
I've been looking at showing in Auckland for a few months, and only really know Gow Langfords who have space here in Sydney.
Being a NZ'der myself, it's a major oversight on my part to have not shown there.

Also apolgies obseq for hijacking your thread :)

[obseq]

Originally posted by Araich
Good to meet you. I like your work, and have forwarded that review to some friends here.
How do you find Artis Gallery (private message me if you like).
I've been looking at showing in Auckland for a few months, and only really know Gow Langfords who have space here in Sydney.
Being a NZ'der myself, it's a major oversight on my part to have not shown there.

Also apolgies obseq for hijacking your thread :)



:cool: No worries, Araich! You helped this thread along.