WORKING WITH METAL

Years ago, while turning wire into sculptures, I discovered how versatile metal materials could be. I liked the challenge and toughness of working with metal, with its blast of sparks, and balance of success with danger. 


And what was welding? With two pieces of unrelated metal, cold and plain, by themselves, just watch what happens when you put them together with fire.  They heat up, begin to glow, turn red to gold, then suddenly touch, surrender, and flow into each other, becoming one, melded (welded), into one new piece.


That process of attraction emulates others in nature. Metal can be stubborn, yet transformable; a not-for-cowards material -- but flexible under the right conditions. It has unlimited potential for creating, and there is always a new way to treat it, though it has been around and worked for eons. Both artists’ and nature’s forces cause it to bend, change colors and surface texture.  It can be enhanced with patinas, scratches, pounding, chemicals, or just water, and yet is sleek and smooth if just left in its original state. It retains beauty when cared for, and with neglect, it takes on even more interesting natural effects. Metals may require brute strength or power tools to form their shapes; then sometimes they just show you the ways they want to move, much like a horse does. They help me to creatively go with the flow, which is their nature.

Photos from top:

NASA sti.org, Welding in action

Ventana’s photo of Sha Sha Higby cutting steel with Plasma Cutter at San Rafael Metal Shop

The Forge softens metal, making it easier to work -  top


Plasma torch cutting steel - above


Welding  - below, right

"Metals symbolize cosmic energy in solidified form and, in consequence, the human libido. Extracting the quintessence from these metals, or transmuting them into images, is equivalent to setting creative energy free from the fetters of the sense world.... That is why in certain rites, the neophyte is required to divest herself of her "metals' -- coins, keys, trinkets -- because they are symbolic of her habits, prejudices, and characteristics. With metal there is an essential element of the ambitendent, in that its positive quality tends one way and its negative defect tends the other." 


- Carl Jung