Welding

THE HALLOWEEN BUNNY in Reclaimed! Show

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

I am very pleased to announce that juror Bryant Holsenbeck has invited my welded steel sculpture THE HALLOWEEN BUNNY into the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County “Reclaimed!” Show, a show which is focused on the use of reclaimed, recycled, and repurposed materials. The “Reclaimed!” Show will be located at 301 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301 and will run from June 28, 2019 until August 17, 2019. This is THE HALLOWEEN BUNNY’S second visit to North Carolina, previously having been part of the “Menagerie – Wild and Wonderful” Show in Washington, NC.

ENT

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2019

My inspiration for ENT was the tree like creatures, guardians of the forests of Middle Earth in the time of the Kings as depicted by J.R. R. Tolkien in his Trilogy: The Lord of the Rings. Those of you familiar with the Ents from either the books or the movie will know that I have stretched artistic license to its limit in creating my ENT from welded steel. 8” x 3” welded steel framed to 6” x 11” x 1”.

THE HALLOWEEN BUNNY

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

I am finding that the more I become involved in creating art, the more I use found, salvaged, and recycled objects and materials as part of it, whether it be ceramics, paper making, print making,  collage, or in this case, welding. All of the welding I did at Snow Farm involved sorting through a large pile of scrap steel of various sizes, shapes and weights to find the makings of a sculpture. The HALLOWEEN BUNNY series started with a pair of hand shears which reminded me of a rabbit’s ears and face and were lying next to some small garden tools which reminded me of paws (well actually claws). This creative scavenging is something that I find very enjoyable and am hoping to continue. It’s not really practical for me to set up a home welding studio/shop so I’m currently looking for a local place to work (as Snow Farm is a 5 ½ hour drive away).

 

 

WELDING

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I recently completed a 5 day “Introduction to MIG Welding” Workshop with Bill Rhodes at the Snow Farm Crafts School in Williamsburg, MA. My first project, using scrap steel, was a piece entitled THE HALLOWEEN BUNNY (look for the new posting on Friday!). Of course, being me, I then explored the form by making two more similar ones before Bill politely, but firmly, suggested I try doing something else. However, I was very pleased, and somewhat surprised when I was asked to put one of “Bunnies” into the School’s auction of teacher’s and selected student work to raise funds for their youth programs. And I was even more pleased when it sold for $75.00, and now resides in a private collection in Somerville, MA.