“You look at it and you think, “well that must’ve just happened”, but it didn’t. It took thousands and thousands of very intentional actions that we call this a metal sunflower.”
The world of art is about as deep as any there is. There are so many different mediums, so many different styles, and so many different makers and admirers that an endless number of creations can be made. Today’s guest thought he wanted to go one direction in the world of art, but was then introduced to metal. This introduction completely shaped the rest of his life, and the way he thought about art. He still uses metal to make traditional fine art, but he’ll also make you a fence for your back yard. Who’s to say what can and can’t be art anyways?
“The end result fixes everything, it makes everything okay.”
“As soon as I did that and I said to myself, it’s okay to be an artist, and it’s okay to be a craftsman, and it’s okay to be a metalworker...as soon as I let all those labels go, I really started to enjoy my career and subsequently became more successful.”
Interview Contents
1:50 - How this became a career.
4:30 - Practical art.
5:50 - Artist vs. metalworker.
9:30 - Types of metal to work with.
10:30 - The process of working with metal.
13:55 – Making one single sunflower.
17:20 – Ornamental ironwork.
20:00 – Who buys the larger works?
22:30 – Appreciating art and having priorities.
24:15 – Getting paid.
25:00 – The increasing popularity of handmade goods.
28:00 – Working in an iron shop.
29:30 – How working at his shop has changed Andrew.
31:30 – Advice for people wanting to work in a trade.
