TRENCH ART

Gotta love those reality shows!  Learned about removing rust with aluminum foil from American Restoration a while back, and last night while watching American Pickers last night and they came across an item they referred to as "Trench Art."  

It looked like an embossed vessel of sorts so I looked it up.  Turns out that particularly during WWI, the soldiers engraved, embossed and otherwise decorated the brass shell casings.  Its always refreshing to learn something new, particularly when it is related to the metal work that I do, and also related to veterans, since I also share that title.  (USMC 1981-1986).  

There are many different souvenirs that make their way back from combat,  but during WWI in particular, the work of these soldiers became its own art form, in part due to the vast numbers of the participants of the war.

The story goes that these items came to be referred to as "trench art" as a result of a WWI French newspaper competition decided to award prizes in a competition for the most creative objects crafted from battlefield debris, by - "the craftsmen of the trenches" or "artisanat de tranchées"

MORE CHANGES FOR 2015

Part of the changes for 2015 are a new logo and business cards as well as a refreshed artist statement.

ARTIST STATEMENT 2015

I am a welder by trade, having changed careers in 2000.  I anticipated pursuing a very practical blue collar career when I went back to school.  In discovering the aesthetic versus functional aspects of metal along the way, it has proven to be an unexpected and fascinating detour in my vocational path.

Working primarily in welded steel and the copper forming techniques of repousse and chasing, I value the potential for expressiveness and texture in my work.  An integral part of my style is accuracy and tangibility. When people see my work, I want them be inclined to reach out and touch it.

I do not always have a set plan when I start creating a piece.  Of course there are mathematical formulas to calculate factors such as proportions and scale.  Other times, the metal surface can, in essence, take on a life of its own, with the shadows from the lights hinting where the next hammer hit should be.  A good part of my passion for and the challenge I get out of my work is driven by my finding the way to the end result.

I take great pleasure in utilizing traditional metalsmithing techniques, bringing into fruition, detail-oriented two and three dimensional art that would be considered non-traditional in nature.  

As I continue to hone my skills as an artisan, I hope to develop my portfolio into a diverse and extraordinary collection of work that one would not expect to be constructed out of metal.