Does Outdoor Metal Sculpture Rust?
Yes, but only where it is meant to. The question of whether outdoor metal sculpture rusts is really a question about the finish rather than the metal. Coated work is sealed and stays as it was made. Uncoated work weathers, and on some pieces that is the entire point. Why the finish matters more than […]
How Public Art Gets Commissioned in Bay Area Cities
There are four routes, and how public art gets commissioned depends entirely on which one you are on. A percent for art requirement attached to private development. A prequalified artist pool a city keeps on file. An open call for a named site. Or a rotating outdoor exhibition that borrows work for a fixed term. […]
How to Anchor an Outdoor Sculpture
How to anchor an outdoor sculpture comes down to a handful of approaches and one decision. Root it into the ground, carry it high on a post, suspend it from a tree, or set it on a prepared base. The ground and the piece decide which applies, and that decision is easier standing on the […]
Custom Sculpture Commissions: How They Actually Work
Custom sculpture commissions arrive by three different routes, and which one you are on changes almost everything about how the work gets made. A private site, a city public art programme and a commercial space each start from a different question. What stays the same is that the site comes first and the object comes […]
Outdoor Sculpture Installation: Where to Place a Piece and How It Is Held Down
Outdoor sculpture installation comes down to three questions, in this order. What is behind it? How will it be held down? And can it physically get to the spot? Most people start with the third and work backwards, which is how a good piece ends up in a bad position. Start with the view, not […]
Upcycled Sculpture Art: How It Is Actually Made
Upcycled sculpture art is made by taking a discarded industrial object, a piece of farm equipment, a stack of tires, an old heating hood, and rebuilding it into a new form rather than melting it down for scrap. The object stays recognisable. In my studio the work runs from finding the piece, through cutting and […]