Back in February of 2009 we received an exciting email that started like this: 

Dear Jennifer & Dave:  Congratulations!  You have been chosen as one of the artists in the Sculptures on Pacific Avenue Project in Bremerton, Washington!

This kind of news is music to the ear of any artist trying to make it in the public art world.  We had entered a call-for-artists from the Bremerton Arts Commission for seven sculptures to be placed along their main downtown corridor as part of the city’s forward-thinking revitalization plan.  They ended up choosing 3 artists/teams, and specifically asked Dave and me to create a pedestrian-scale version of our sculpture Despite the Rain.

The original sculpture stands just 18 inches tall and is made from bronze sheet metal. I decided to make the Bremerton version out of steel & stainless steel, and to add color to the umbrella and puddle:

14 months later we have finally started fabrication!  Public art takes a great deal of patience for all involved, and we spent the year planning, negotiating contracts and waiting, waiting, waiting.  There were several times I worried the project might get cancelled due to budget cuts.  Nearly all city municipalities have made cuts throughout this recession, and unfortunatly many mistakenly see art as low hanging fruit.  I applaud the Bremerton Arts Commission for working hard to keep this project alive.  And a big thank you to Pam Byknonen who is our contact and a joy to work with. 

Here are some in-process shots to date:

This is the first of several blog posts about this project.  Stay tuned for more!

Now comes the fun part.  I get to take the laser cut steel panels I showed you in the previous post and begin to form them into their intended shape.  When we built the first Shapely I chose to construct an internal armature to support the 16 gauge shell (shown in the next two pictures) . 

Since Shapely and Shapely Two are intended for outdoor venues I want to ensure they can comfortably handle several people climbing on it as well as in-climate weather conditions. That armature worked well on Shapely but this time I decided to approach the structural requirements differently.  I am making the lower section out of 11 gauge (0.120″) instead of 16 gauge (0.060″)  material for several reasons.

• Shapely Two has  a much more, shall I say, svelte look, making it challenging to fit an armature inside.
• I was so happy with the rigidity of the box construction provided on the first Shapely that I am confident the added thickness will provide plenty of structure
• best of all, it simplifies construction.

There are no flat surfaces on Shapely Two. A characteristic of virtually all of Jennifer’s work.  Each side has varying degrees of curvature.  Some are small enough that I can easily position them using blocks,  clamps or just by pushing.

Others will require more aggressive forming to obtain the proper shape.  Since I have yet to acquire a slip roller, I use this low tech bender for shaping the sheets. It is effective but I have to be careful not to put kinks in the panels.

Before I start bending each panel I need to establish the  line it will curve along.  Once that line has been drawn I add perpendicular lines every few inches.  I align these perpendicular lines to the axis of the tube I am bending the sheet around.  Skipping this step would risk putting unwanted twist in the panel.

Here you can see how two of the panels are fitting up.  The closer I can get them to match without clamps the easier they are to tack together.  Minor gaps can be adjusted out during tacking and final welding.  

Another view of the fit up between the sides. The section closest to the camera will be pushed into position during tacking.

Once I am reasonably happy with the fit it is time to tack the panels together.  To ensure that the base will be ”square” I fixture the panels on the top of the work bench and true everything up.  You can’t have too many clamps. 

Tacks are small welds that temporarily lock the panels together but can be easily broken or cut if necessary.  I place tacks every 6″ to 12″ depending upon the curve.  The tighter the radius the closer the tacks are together. 

I am also paring the tacks so that any shrinkage at one  tack is counterbalanced by a tack on the other side of the panel.  This helps keep things from moving around. In the next picture all 4 sides are tacked together.  Now I will set this piece aside while I tack the mating section together.  Then I’ll come back and fit up the top plate (which must match the mating section) and install the bottom mounting plate.

I’ll cover that in the next post.

As we wind down from several architectural projects that have been keeping us hopping, Dave and I are finding the mental space and time to focus on sculpture.  I’ve been busily applying for calls-for-artists (’tis the season) while Dave’s been refining some of my sculpture designs using Rhino 3-d modeling software. 

Lately I’ve been hot on making a Shapely series as an exploration of color and shape.  The first Shapely, created earlier this year, was our foray into pure abstraction.  It was fun playing with simple shapes and bold colors, piecing them together to create an eye-catching form and color combination. 

Here’s the maiden Shapely:

Shapely Two, the sleeker cousin of the original has a more contemporary space age look:

I’m toying with a chartreuse green paired with a deep orange.  The color in this picture doesn’t exactly capture what I’m looking for, and it may well look very different on your screen, but it gives an idea of what I’m considering at the moment.  And I just may change my mind drastically as I get samples from Prismatic Powders and play with combinations from actual powder coat color palettes. 

Stay tuned as Shapely Two evolves from a computer model to a physical touchable sculpture.

The Shapely Series
A childlike fascination with bright colors and puzzle pieces resurfaces as we play with vivid yet simple shapes; piecing them together to create flowing lines and a sensuous, more grown-up form.

We love metal here at Cobalt Designworks and pride ourselves on offering infinite possibilities in custom metal work.  Got an idea?  We’ll help you realize it as long as Dave gets to play with iron, alloys and cool tools, and I get to add some design panache.  The challenge with offering such a wide range of goods is that sometimes sculpture as pure art gets placed on the back burner, yielding to functional art or sometimes just plain function.  The past month here it’s been all about railings, and this week it’s looking more and more like we’re in the sign business.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big believer that more art should be built into everyday objects and I’m glad we get to influence that in our own small way. Not to mention that we’re quite happy to have railing and sign jobs right now. Period.  

But today the art-for-art’s-sake urge hit me like a ton of bricks.  I WANT TO CREATE A SCULPTURE!  Early on when we formed the business Dave and I made a pact to always have at least one sculpture in process at any given time no matter what else we’ve got going on in the shop.  For the past few weeks we haven’t been living up to our promise, so today I started looking through my sketchbooks trying to make the delightful decision of what to bring to life next.  I’ve been hesitant to post raw designs but figured I’d risk it and throw them out there for all to see and give you a little glimpse into the early stages of a sculpture idea.

The above design is second in our Shapely series, a play on big simple shapes and bright bold colors. A bit sleeker than the original Shapely and still open to an infinite array of color choices, I envision it standing 10 feet tall. Here’s the original.

This mermaid design has been in my sketchbook since 2002 and I just happened upon it again. I love seafaring mythology. This sculpture would add to our growing collection of powerfully feminine figures. I look forward to refining the design of the scales and breasts, and exploring different textures for each. This will surely give Dave some new fabrication challenges and a chance to expand his metalworking skill set.

The design below is further along in process; from my 2-d pencil sketch we created a refined 3-d version using Rhino software. It is a possible commission for a client who has an office along the Columbia River with river-themed elements throughout.  The waves will be cast glass, a new process for us.  I’ve taken one casting class, and will no doubt need to practice a bit before working on this piece. 

Which sculpture do YOU think we should build next? Leave a comment and let us know.

Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

After a few people commented that they’d love a small version of our sculpture Rise , we got to thinking about creating a mini rendition of the 9-foot winged woman. At first it seemed counter to the norm; artists usually create a smaller model, or maquette, before creating the larger piece. A maquette allows you to present a design concept for a large piece to potential clients, as well as figure out the best construction techniques and determine where fabrication issues might arise. It is a less costly practice piece, and as such it is usually constructed faster and less deliberately than the final sculpture.

We never built a maquette for Rise, but instead used computer design software (Rhino) to create a 3-D version of my conceptual sketch that could be shown, or rendered, from any angle. It’s the next best way to present a concept without the time and expense of building a physical model.

Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

When redesigning a 9 foot high sculpture into a 2 foot version, some modifications must be made in both design and fabrication technique. The basic concept is the same but it’s not an identical sculpture. The biggest change is the body; instead of a hollow form with curves in all the right places, the body of the small Rise is a solid piece of 1/2″ steel, as shown below. Other fabrication differences include the way the head is attached and the construction of the conical base, still made of of sheet metal but using a different fab technique. We are considering having future bases machined.

Luckily there were no changes in either the wings or the luscious “lollipop red” powder coat, the two dominating traits of the sculpture. Here is the finished Rise – mini-style!

Rise (26″ x 12″ x 4″) Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

Some work-in-progress shots:

Rise - Copyright 2009 Cobalt Designworks, LLC

Here is a photo of my very first metal sculpture, Luna. I designed and created her back in 2001 when I took a welded sculpture class at Clark College just a few blocks away from our house. Luna is a statement of personal power; something I was just starting to regain on my journey to creative recovery.

Creative recovery? Huh?

Luna
Copyright 2001-2009 Jennifer Corio

I was taking a leave of absence from my high tech job at the time, and what I thought I needed most during the break was rest & relaxation. In retrospect what I really needed was a release of pent up creativity. I had spent the last 15+ years exercising my left brain; that analytical, logical part of myself; neglecting my more creative side. I took several art classes during my leave — glass, ceramics, jewelry making, when I finally landed in the welding lab at Clark College under the tutelage of Beth Heron and Patrick Gonzales. I fell in love! It was thrilling to wield a torch and work with heavy equipment I never imagined I had the guts to use. I loved the power of taking a rigid material like steel and transforming it into graceful forms.

When it was time to return to work I had a bit of a crisis of consciousness. Do I enter the rat race again or do I take the risk and try something new? Dave and I were newlyweds then and he fully supported, even encouraged me to pursue the artistic path. One thought particularly swayed me to take the leap: I didn’t know when it would be, 10 years, 5 years, one year from now, but I feared I’d look back at the opportunity I had but didn’t take and feel regret. And regret is one emotion I try to avoid like the plague!

So I took the leap and haven’t looked back (except perhaps to fondly remember a steady paycheck)!  Eight years later I feel like my creative recovery has transformed into a creative journey; a meandering path of adventure, mystery, trial & error, give & take, mind expansion, passion, vision…and so much more.

Stay tuned for stories of irony & good timing in Part II of the tale.

 I don’t remember who I overheard referring to our new sculpture as Hot Rod Angel, but I had to chuckle.  My original idea to explore bold metallic colors came from watching American Chopper and seeing the painters apply multiple layers of yellow and green to a new motorcycle tank.  It was bitchin’, and I couldn’t stop thinking about doing something like that on a sculpture.  When the idea for Rise landed on my sketchpad, I knew I found a place to try that rich color combination. 

There was a slight problem.  Dave and I have chosen not to use solvent based paints and have made a commitment to the powder coat process.  But try as I might, I couldn’t find any yellow-greens I liked in powder.

As the design for Rise started to crystallize, I got to thinking about red instead of yellow-green.  A deep, rich, translucent red.  Red like passion.  Red like the flow of blood.  A red that would enhance the meaning of Rise –  about striving to reach our human potential during our limited time on earth.  You can’t do that without quite a bit of fire and passion!  My hope was that red might help convey that, although Rise is angelic in her presence, she is very human in nature.

The choice has been well-received, with “Lollipop Red” wowing nearly everyone who sees it.   The color changes continuously throughout the day, and at the right time and angle looks as smooth & slick as enamel.  This has only fueled my desire to continue exploring rich translucent colors, and seeing just what we can do with some creative, high quality powder coat applications.  Thank you to the great folks at Masic, our powder coat supplier in Portland who has been very supportive of our work and our ideas‎.

Now onto my continued search for that perfect yellow-green…..

Rise returned from Masic, our powder-coat supplier, donned in a deep translucent and luscious red.  The red together with brushed stainless steel is exquisite and completes my vision for the sculpture.  To get some good shots of her we took her to our neighborhood park and waited for those magical moments of evening light.

Rise

This winged woman with her angelic presence is floating upwards, rising to meet the potential that lies within.

Rise

Strong Body.  Open Mind.  Full Spirit.