DAVID FIELDS ART: May 2010

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Video from my crucible furnace test run.

I made the furnace, crucible tongs (for taking the crucible out of the furnace and putting it in the crucible shank), and the crucible shank (for picking up the crucible and pouring the molten metal.) The furnace is not completely finished yet, but far enough to test out. It worked great! We poured 3 ingots of bronze for the test. You can see the full size video at youtube at this link http://www.youtube.com/user/dfield23

Artist Statement

I love art of all mediums. I love being able to create in 2D, 3D, or 4D whatever my imagination shows me. Being able to take a small handful or a large pile of seemingly useless parts and creating something of beauty or meaning gives me an extreme sense of accomplishment. It gives me a feeling of pride to be able to make someone glow with fascination or amazement at what I made with the junk they handed me. Being able to take a sheet of paper or a canvas and create something of beauty that also makes people feel emotion or surprise is a gift that I treasure.

Whether a personal piece or a commissioned piece, I start all my sculptures the same. I look through all my scrap and parts to see if I see the finished piece or parts of it in what I have. If all the parts are not there, I wait till they are or until I find what I call the heart piece. The heart piece is usually the first piece I find, and it gives me the vision of the way the finished piece will look. It gives me the starting point hence, “The Heart Piece.” Sometimes the heart piece can be very small and sometimes it can make up the majority of the piece. Either way, if it is not there, the piece feels wrong. The piece might still look good to others and overall be a great piece but it will lack that small extra that pushes it over the top. Almost all of my sculptures have a heart piece and to me would not be the same without it.

My non-parts pieces usually start with a heart piece also but the entire work is made from scrap or new metals. In other words I do not use any pre-made parts such as nuts, bolts, gears or the like. Presently I am studying paint and how to apply painting techniques to my sculpture. Some pieces I like raw with no paint so you can see the joints and welds, which sometimes add more life than paint ever could. Other times the paint is the heart piece and without it the piece is just undone.