How About Building A Metal Sculpture
As a student of Art, you no doubt know about painting and sculpting. You might have created different sculptures from clay. However, have you ever thought about building sculptures with metal? Sculptures have been around for centuries; however, welded metal sculptures are a fairly new concept. Gone are the days when you could admire sculptures in homes of wealthy art collectors or museums. You might have also seen these metal masterpieces in home décor magazines, but rarely in the homes of family and friends. Most art students and do-it-yourself enthusiasts shy from making sculptures of metal because they believe that it is a cumbersome job and that they will not be able to succeed.
Metalic Art Sculptures
However, this is not the case. With a bit of patience, you can create beautiful metallic art sculptures for your home. You will require several tools including a polishing machine to make the sculpture. Regarding metals, you have a wide choice to select from such as steel and copper.
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Priorities
You should first choose a subject matter to make a sculpture of. It could be an object, person, animal, or just a random pattern that looks interesting to the art lover. If you do not have any ideas where to start, search the internet for metal sculptures. You will find a wide variety of images on the net. Once you have found a suitable image, draw it from three different angles (front, side, and top). If you have never created sculptures before, opt for a simple image so that you will not face any problems while creating your special work of art. You should also purchase the different tools required to build the sculpture.
Start the mission
Since you will need to do a lot of welding, you should purchase an acetylene/ oxygen set. You will have to visit a speciality store that sells goods for sculptors for the oxygen/ acetylene set as hardware stores typically carry welding rods and arc welders. You also require a welder's goggle and helmet as the bright light of the welding arc can potentially cause harm to your eyes. You also need a wire brush along with a chipping hammer. An angle grinder is a great tool that will allow you to cut metal faster. However, you can also do this job with a hacksaw. If you are working with sheet metal (you can also use metal wire to create the sculpture, but the process is tedious and best left to those who have sufficient experience in creating custom works of art using metal wires), you will need tinsnips as well. If you never worked with an oxygen/ acetylene set before, you should practise welding pieces of scrap metal until you master the art. This is a good opportunity to become familiar with the angle grinder too. Remove the layer of slag with the chipping hammer.
Ready, set, go
Once you have mastered the art of welding and removing the slag, it is time for you to prepare your masterpiece. It is best to create a solid base on which you will join the smaller parts. Once you have completed the sculpture, use a polishing machine to polish, buff, burnish, brush, and scotch the surfaces of your sculpture.