Abstract Metal Sculpture

I got into abstract metal sculpture quite by accident. At the time, I was actually trying to make a penguin out of wires. I spent about a week on it, working for an hour every day after school. It was a life-sized penguin with what I thought were compelling and detailed features that anyone would recognize. When I showed it to my friend, however, he seemed to think it was a piece of abstract art. He commented on the line quality, the texture and the composition but, when I asked him what he thought it was, he sheepishly admitted that he didn't know. I realize at that moment that I had no future as a realist, but I might make a decent abstract artist.

I made my next abstract metal sculpture out of pieces of recycled cans. I would cut them with tin snips, bend over the edges so that they would not cut anyone, and solder the pieces together. It was not a very good sculpture, since I didn't really understand metal soldering at that point. It fell apart pretty quickly, but it lasted for long enough for me to get a couple compliments. I was hooked.

As I learned about new ways to work metal, I became more and more intrigued by abstract metal sculpture. Soon, I was making multimedia sculptures by building complex metallic forms on top of wood blocks, stools and other wooden bases. At that point I hadn't really come up with a style for myself. Every abstract sculpture was different, and the quality was really hit or miss. It took me about a year before I finally found my voice.

Strangely enough, my current style is more like that first abstract metal sculpture than the wildly imaginative things I was making for the next year. I finally realized that I liked wire a lot better than anything else I have been using for the simple fact that it is easy to work with and gives clear, structured lines to the piece. My Abstract metal sculptures also incorporate pieces of tin and, occasionally, strips of copper, but they are mostly made out of bent, flattened, filed and otherwise manipulated lengths of wire. The nice thing about it is that I don't have to spend a lot of money for supplies. There are almost always old coat hangers, broken electronics or other things to scavenge for wire so I really only need to spring for solder, paint and an occasional new tool.