Firefly, 2007
Forged and hot-worked structural steel
57" x 31" x 6" (H x W x D)
Firefly is displayed at the corner of 11th St. and Main Avenue in Soux Falls, SD as a part of SculptureWalk, 2008. It is among 55 sculptures appearing in downtown Sioux Falls this year.
"Fire has an important place in human experience and symbolism. When I looked at all the different ways fire and flames have been portrayed by artists in different cultures and in different media, I realized that it's a challenging subject.
"As an artist-blacksmith I have a close working relationship with fire and I wanted to represent fire and flames in my own medium. I wanted to interpret flame and hot-worked steel and show that metal can be both solid and airy. I also wanted to show my own creative humor in a straightforward way.
"I used high-tech fires from an electronic torch and a gas jet furnace to cut and bend a common I-beam into an uplifting form that might suggest an opening zipper. Then I added hand forged steel flames, finishing them with an oxide patina because rust is the way steel slowly burns in air. Airy, dancing metal flames unzip from a strong and heavy piece of structural steel.
Sioux Falls SculptureWalk is among the nation’s most highly regarded and competitive municipal art programs. The sculptures remain in place for one year before being replaced by the next year’s selections. Exhibition sponsors offer more than $25,000 in awards, including a purchase award for permanent exhibition in a city park. Click here to visit the SculptureWalk web site.
Exhibitions:
• 2007 Annual Juried Sculpture Show Craven Arts Council, New Bern, NC • "All About Metal" Invitational Morgan Arts Council, Berkeley SpringsWV
