Welding, Art, and Metal
Welding is the fabrication of merging materials together by heat and using filler material to form a weld. Once the filler is melted is can be used to fill in gaps, create seals, or even be used to create joint. In welding, the construction and creation of various objects can range from functional to artistic. Sculptural welding, requires knowledge of welding different shapes and colors together. Designers are limited to one’s imagination and talent.
There are many famous artists and sculptures that use welding and its techniques. One of the earliest welders was Julio Gonzalez. He was born in 1876 in Barcelona, Spain. He was influenced by his father rand grandfather who were both metal workers. One of his famous works is “Monsieur”. Other artists are Henry Moore, Antoine Pevsner, Richard Huna and Beverly Pepper. There are many more artists and sculptures that a quick Google search can pull up.
Other techniques that welders and sculptors can use are casting, cutting, grinding, brazing, soldering, milling and using hammers to flatten and shape metal. Casting is the process in which liquid metal is poured into a mold. The mold usually has a hollow cavity of the desired shape. Casting can be done with epoxy, metal, concrete, plaster or clay. Grinding and cutting can be done with machines or by hand. These processes can increase the surface area of the soli, give the object a desired grain size and smooth our rough edges. Brazing is joining metal together by melting filler into a joint. This practice is part of welding. Soldering is the process of when two or more items being joined together. This is different than brazing because the two pieces are of different composition. An example of this process is plastic and metal. Many different types of techniques can be used in the fabrication of sculptures and metal art.