It turned into a week of birds this week when I checked my stock, and in preparation for the Filberg festival. Bearing birds, sculptural desk top back yard and seashore birds and lastly, some large herons for the garden. All made using recycled parts, the photos will walk you through the process starting from nothing to something pretty amazing, it still surprises me sometimes in the combinations and then the finished products. The last 2 pics were fun, cutting up an old rusty barrel and welding dandelions out of old kitchen mixers. Please scroll down to see photos and check last weeks post for all upcoming events and stores.
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Shop time was fun with cooler weather this week and a few play days in between work, check out the very last photo! Cut out a managerie of animals for garden stakes, worked on some more crow, ocean, and tea cup arches, and a large flock of tall dragonfly stakes. One of the neat things was welding, or trying to, weld some pennies onto my metal salmon. Some pennies welded perfectly and were secure, others simply blew apart in a cloud of white smoke because they were a different metal, pot metal, or they were not real pennies at all?! Did not matter whether they were Canadian, American or the dates, have not had time to research that more but it was intriguing and I will come back to that. Pictures below from the bench and my 'research' day. Nice fish! 25.5 lbs.
A very busy work week with less than 2 1/2 weeks until the massive Filberg Festival art and music event in Comox. Filling in some gaps in product, hooks, ornaments, some new hooks mounted on driftwood, rusty mermaid stakes and something very popular, my 'Crow window arches'. Pictures show some of the steps in the hand building of the crows and their environment, my main environment of late too. A few straight days of cutting with the plasma cutter for all those items, always fun wearing a respirator and coveralls when the weather is hot. Needless to say work starts early and finishes when my gear slides off due to sweat.
A few photos of my site at last Sunday's very well attended art event.The weather was amazing with the ocean breezes, and shade from trees and awnings to counteract the heat. There was a wide variety of artists selling at the event, a painting on site competition, and some stunning plein air plant material art to behold on site. The gallery, gift shop and studio's were open for all to see. A not to be missed yearly event, as an artist, or a s spectator! An almost hidden gem on the lagoon.
There are some big art shows coming up and the weather is getting hot enough for people to actually be outside in their garden. That means plants, furniture, and it means art, a way of personalizing your space and surrounding yourself with the things you love. I worked half the week in shop then took off to one of our smaller islands with portable work and a goal of finding more driftwood.The trip was amazing, beaches, kayaking, wildlife, the driftwood was fantastic but too big to bring home. Here on Vancouver Island because of the logging we still have the best selection of all sizes of driftwood hands down.
Some pictures first of a few projects from the beginning of the week: a tall whimsical yard heron from recycled parts, quail in driftwood, and a really fun recycled parts fish. Yard heron is self explanatory from pics, quail are pre done, the correct size and balance of driftwood is amassed that is big enough to hold 3 quail stakes, then drilled at the right angle and quails inserted to finish off. The fish has everything from horse shoes, to vegetable steamer parts, to saw blades, to rebar, combined in a one of a kind combination that speaks 'cool swimming fish for the mantle place or patio table that you simply cannot resist'. Last 4 pics of driftwood scavenger hunt on our beautiful B.C.gulf islands, the place to see deer, osprey, eagles, dahl porpoises, goldfinches, sea birds in all shapes and sizes, otters, ravens, , snakes, and hundreds upon hundreds of starfish, mussels, and oysters. |
AuthorKaren Lancey is the metal artist behind Metal Mermaid Welding, at home in North Saanich B.C. Canada Archives
March 2020
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