Even as a child I wanted to create art with metal. I was in 5th grade when I made my first piece of metal art. I made a butterfly mobile out of large steel cat food cans I cut up using my mothers good sewing scissors, then I blued and annealed the metal on our gas stove. Needless to say I ruined the scissors; mom was not happy about that! She wasn't too happy about my heating the metal on her stove either, but she had a big smile for me when I gave her the mobile I'd made. It would be the first of many works of metal art I would make in my life. By the time I was in high school I was confident enough in my art work to start entering local art competitions. I was amazed the first time my name was called to receive an award! I have to admit it's been a thrill every time that's happened over the years.
I've always been intrigued by working with metals of all kinds. My day job is working for an auto restoration company where I've been custom fabricating body parts for vintage, classic or antique cars for the past 20 years. While this keeps the bills paid, which is a good thing, it doesn't satisfy my need for creative outlets.
I've always drawn inspiration from nature, starting with the first butterfly art for my mother. Most of my work is of flowers I've found in my yard, on walks in parks, hiking trails, nature preserves and out camping with my family. I've made bird houses and garden sculptures to place in and around my garden.
Over the years I've made metal flowers for my wife, Becky, her mother and my mother. Our friends have received one-of-a-kind works of art I've done for them as gifts for special occasions. At one time that's all this was, a hobby; a way to make unique gifts for special people, I never thought it would be more than that. Then word-of-mouth advertising from my friends and family brought paying customers to me. Buoyed by the praise my work received from everyone the idea of opening a store on Etsy was born; Crystal Metal Creation! (It should read Crystal Metal Creations but the 's' won't fit on Etsy! If you look for me on Facebook add the 's'! Soon I'll be on Pinterest with the 's'!)
All of my work is hand hammered to get the shape and texture then assembled by welding, braising and soldering the pieces together. The primary metals I work in are steel, brass, copper, aluminum and some mixed metal alloys. I work with sterling silver as well. Any of my works can be made in silver; contact me to discuss what you'd like to have made. If you're looking for flowers that are white, silver is the metal I work with to make a stunning white color. Any of my flowers can be done in white. Contact me so we can talk about custom orders.
Most often my flowers are made of a combination of different metals depending upon the desired color. None of the colors you see on any of my creations are done with paint. I use age old, time honored methods that metalsmith's and jewelers have used for centuries; the application of an 'pickling' agent, (acid), on the metal and varying amounts of heat to create different colors. Depending upon the metal, pickling agent and the amount of heat used, determines the final color.
I have a lot of works in progress at this time with an eye towards expanding what I have to offer in the store. Recently I found a ginkgo leaf on the ground that captured my imagination. I made a single small ginkgo leaf out of copper just to get an idea of what is needed to create a realistic representation. I'm working on a pair of ginkgo leaf earrings. I'm thinking maybe ginkgo leaf inspired wall art will be next. I'm considering making more lilies like the copper one on the slide show on this page. Experiments are underway to create a Peacock Blue Rose along with a White Rose using a new type of silver called Argentium Silver. Someday I hope to offer works in either 14 or 18kt gold. Currently items in gold are only available as a custom order.
Crystal Metal Creation(s) would not be possible with out the love, tireless support and never ending encouragement from my wonderful wife, Becky! She's put up with my eccentricities and long hours at work, or working on my art, over years. She's given us three beautiful children that bring us joy every single day! I don't have the words to express my love and gratitude for all she does for me and our daughters!