This is the short art essay I wrote for my final grade.

Strength, reliable, and durable are just some of the words I’m reminded of when I look at steel. I want viewers to see the medium as part of the whole and not just the end result. The importance of my work is the progression of the piece from start to finish. Every mark, bend, and color change is considered throughout the construction of a piece. I bend and weld each piece myself. It is part of the process and more personal than going to an outside source. My art is representative of my self and is vital in self expression.
Steel is a foundation. All things have a starting point. I use the steel as my starting point. The material is then shaped and heated into the next stage of its progression. It is an organic development as the piece shifts into its next stage.
The non-living is serving the same function as the living. Giving the piece a light, airy, life like quality. Curved bars rolling into sharp bends mimicking the life and vitality of the world around. Art copies nature and nature is art. It moves in a circle, one side completing the other. Steel is man made and it is shaped by man. It is used to build all sorts of things not found in nature. The ridged form of an I-beam used for strength; shifting to a round bar curving and twisting live a vine. Working with steel, bringing it back to an organic state, helps to complete that circle.
It is a very primal feeling to be able to bend and weld all the parts myself. It is a level of intimacy that I can only get by doing it myself. I know every bend, mark, weld, and color change. To know all that I can about a piece is how I know when I’m done. When I understand all of its characteristics, I can move on to the next one. And to have someone come in and do a section for me; I miss that stage of development. I don’t get to see the full growth of a piece. There is a strong need to see and have a hand in every step of the growth of a piece.
The transition from the foundation to the finished is a fascinating development. It can not be forced; it has to be allowed to flow. Moving from one form to the next, flowing and changing, like a tree spreading its roots and branching out. I bend each bar one at a time and place them together until I feel the space is filled.
The space around and in the work are important to the finished state. It’s like that “just right feeling”, can’t be too empty or too full. The air around and in the piece is an extension. It also brings the viewer into the piece. Where you stand in relation to the work changes how you perceive it. From far away or even standing in the middle of it, the form of interaction changes.
The closer you stand, the better one can see the color changes in the steel, copper and bronze. By heating steel you can get a vast array of different colors. The same is with true with copper. The changes in copper are more obvious than in steel. It also takes less heat to make the change, add too much and you lose all color as it shifts to grey.
The color changing process has taken a lot of practice and a lot of attention. The thinner the material the less heat is needed. The center cone of the flame determines how hot it is. The lager the cone, the hotter the flame. You can also hear a difference. A rushing wind sound that increases in volume and heat. The more I worked with the torch, the better I got at making sure I had the right temperature with the right size of steel. I had to pay even closer attention with copper since it has a lower melting point. I knew it had a lower melting point, but it didn’t register till I melted through a bar.
It is a matter of trial and error. Learning how the materials interact with each other and the tools used to shape them. With each piece I gain a greater understanding of how every thing works. As my pieces develop, I also develop. It is all interconnected. Learning how change a bar of steel into a flowing and twisting shape is an ongoing process.