I am a self employed sculptor based in South wales not far from Swansea. I am self taught in metal working and have been doing this full time for twenty years. My workshop is not far from The Gower Penninsula and I am generally open for visitors, do ring first on the number below as my hours can be a bit irregular; especially if the weather is nice.
I have a large industrial workshop, so lots of space for big or multiple projects and loads of room for running classes, there is a dedicated page on the site detailing classes.
I use a variety of techniques in my work. Almost all of it is welded together using a mig welder. I also do a lot of plasma cutting. Most of the material is shaped by cold by hand, no blacksmithing is involved .
All of these techniques are available to visitors and students
I have evolved my own style of working that relates to the 'Direct Metal Sculpture' approach that first appeared in the 1960's. In this approach there is almost no use use of applied heat eg blacksmithing, forge work or foundry work.Instead the metal is cold formed and in my case welded together to make the finished piece of art.I do use scrap metal and recycled materials where relevant but most of my work uses steel as supplied from the steel works.In my case it is is from the local steelworks in Port Talbot South Wales this makes for a nice connection with my local communityA lot of my work involves using open structures in which the viewer is able to fill in the spaces, almost like three dimensional line drawing.I take inspiration from many many sources. A lot of what I make is inspired by nature; I have a particular interest in marine life; I have made many sculptures of fishes ranging in size from around 3m down to about the size of a hand.
Below are photos of a recent project, made for a large transport company. A 2.6m long dragon in Corten Steel. stood on top of a 2m diameter globe. A big and involving job.
Rather than cluttering my home page I will use this one piece to illustrate how I work.
Below is a more detailed shot of Dai the Dragon in which you can see some of the techniques involved in his manufacture. Ie sheet metal work, plasma cutting, Mig welding and fabrication.
The Corten Steel he is made of is designed to rust on the surface then protect itself from further deterioration
And below a close up shot showing a detail of his legs, and how I achieved the muscular structure to give him that feeling of life. I was very pleased with how these turned out. There are so many sculptures of dragons that have no feeling of life or dynamism.
This page is intended to give a brief introduction to my work, I am always willing to discuss projects and commisions, both private and commercial. No subject is impossible