WHAT THE FUQ*?

*Frequently Unasked Questions about Art

Edgy Sculpture!

So one question I’m Never asked is, ‘How do I get all of the edges on a sculpture so perfect’. It’s never asked because the corners don’t stick out as anything special, which is by design!

Every artist is different, but for me, I want the actual welding to be invisible. . . but for you, my gentle reader, I’m about the Throw Back the Curtain and EXPOSE  how it’s done!

(Lucky you, right?)

1. THE BEAST OF GRINDING WHEELS:

So… it starts with a Huge & Heavy grinding machine (“The Baby” (cuz that’s how James holds it to contain its awesome Power (and it makes a lot of whinny noises))) You can SEE The Baby in the upper-right of this image.

YOU READ THAT RIGHT! Triple-nested parenthesis! #MadGrammarSkillz

2. THE 13cm (5″) STAINLESS WHEEL

The Beast of wheels is not designed for Stainless and can overheat it, so you can only get so close with it. THIS wheel is used to take the welds down to around .4mm (1/64th inches (a quarter of 1/16″)) WITHOUT touching the base metal itself.

3. Welding adjustments at this point. (Below)

4. CUTTING WHEEL

Sometimes the weld didn’t go deep enough so while grinding a hairline of a crack can be exposed. I mark the small imperfections as I grind. After a round of grinding, I then cut a wider opening for new weld.

5. Welding cut gaps and other small spots.

6. STAINLESS BLENDING WHEEL:

This one takes the remaining .4mm weld down to the surface of the sculpture while taking off a minimal amount of material.

7. Last minute welds to make everything perfect. (These are very small welds).

8. FINISHING DISC:

This is the Disc used for putting the final pretty finish into the Stainless steel and the final step.

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!  The magic (and amazing amount of work) behind the finished sculpture! In the above photo you are looking at a 5cm (2 inch) section of what can be more than 27m (90 feet) of welding on one sculpture! So remember, with every edge you see you are actually looking at a WELD.

Amazing.  I know.

• James Kelsey, January 30, 2017