greetings

[kestonh]

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Keston Helfrich and I live in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Please feel free to have a look at my website at www.metalmorphisis.com.

[fritchie]

kestonh - I took a look last night and copied one of your images to put up, but had to wait overnight before reducing it in size. Russ has a 70 kbyte limit for images and prefers that they be under about 35 kb for fast loading of the whole Community. Here is one piece.

Hope you don’t mind the change in size. Your work is very different in concept for “abstract” work - assembled with nuts and bolts instead of welding, it appears. Is this right?

[kestonh]

fritchie-

I actually noticed that I had uploaded the pics with a preview from Photoshop- I resized them all this AM so the file size is much smaller now.

I try to do as little soldering and welding as possible. I enjoy using all cold connections in my work as it allows me to explore my orginal idea for the piece further as I can actually see how the pieces will function and play off of one another as I am constructing.
That, and its a LOT easier to fix mistakes;).

-K

[Aurora]

Welcome Keston

I enjoyed your web site and your work. Do I sense an engineer in your background?

[kestonh]

Thanks! from poking around the forums this seems to be a pretty entertaining and informative place.

Yeah, there's a little bit of engineer involved. I have always had an interest in both art and engineering. I went to art school instead of engineering in my final act of teenage rebellion. After I got my BFA, I swore off art forever, and started on an engineering degree. At the end of year 2, My romantic notion of what I wanted engineering ot be was crushed under a torrent of numbers.
I was lucky enough to recant my earlier heresy and started making stuff again.

[Araich]

Hi Keston, welcome aboard. :)
I just toured your site - very interesting. It reminded me of the implied mechanical in my own work (from time to time). It is a strange coincidence, but I lay in bed last night thinking about how to introduce a piveting element into my work.
I often use simple geometric elements like cubes and cylinders. I use them to force aspects (visual planes), effect visual balance and in blatant contrast to the organic cuvre.
It could be interesting to allow the restricted rotation of these... and that would mean I'd have to step away from the welder. Nooooooo!

[obseq]

<At the end of year 2, My romantic notion of what I wanted engineering ot be was crushed under a torrent of numbers.
I was lucky enough to recant my earlier heresy and started making stuff again.>


Could you expand on this?


What was your romantic notion of engineering?



Welcome aboard!
:)

[kestonh]

Araich...back away from the welder slowly...take a deep breath (yes its ok not to smell ozone all the time)... don't fear the pivot:D

obseq
I had, what I feel to be, a very 1960's Space Race notion of what engineering should be. Thinking off the cuff, trying to come up with new an innovative solution quickly, just making it work, etc... My studies were what I wanted for about 3 semesters. The fourth semester quickly became a numerical nightmare. I was trained in art school to think conceptually, and being forced to spend days trying to solve things numerically that I could visualize the solution to (and usually had the right idea by the time I slogged through all the math). I still have a healty interest in it, but prefer to do what I do.
... I think I've ranted enough for now.

-K

[Araich]

Originally posted by kestonh
Araich...back away from the welder slowly...take a deep breath (yes its ok not to smell ozone all the time)... don't fear the pivot:D
I want to, I think, oh I'm so unsure... what will it mean to my art practice, all bolts and washers and stuff.

Still the power bill wont suffer.

[kestonh]

Originally posted by Araich
I want to, I think, oh I'm so unsure... what will it mean to my art practice, all bolts and washers and stuff.

Still the power bill wont suffer.

It means searching for almost an hour at 2 AM for the last ^&%$&$&#&##!!! 5/16-18 nut you dropped and rolled somewhere, so that you finally give up and make one because you're shipping out the work in the morning...


...hmm...
maybe I've been to hard on welding...