As of 2007 I have been welding metal sculpture for twenty three years. I love the work that I do and on occasion so do others. When that does happen I buy more steel, tools, pay some bills and weld more work. Since starting this obsession I have probably welded around a hundred and fifty pieces not counting production steel work that I have done here and there. This does not seem like a lot but when you consider the fact that I am quite lazy along with the excessive amount of time these pieces require then one hundred and fifty pieces is a lot more than it seems.

Almost all of the 3D work that I do is constructed out of twenty gage sheet steel. The “Naked Man has just under two thousand separate pieces and took seven months of ten hour days to complete. It has no armature and is completely hollow inside. All the welding is done using a gas torch which surprisingly turns out to be faster based on my techniques.

Presently my partner Marta Baricsa and I have a live/work studio at the ARC in Vancouver BC. Marta is also an artist. Living here with us is Sweetie, my good friend for 23 years now. She is a blue and gold macaw.

My welding area here is set up better than any studio I have had in the past and works extremely well for the work that I do. I have most of the tools that I need including a recently bought PlasmaCam CNC machine which I have started to use for some of my newer more abstract work along with some commercial work.

A lot of my inspiration comes from meditation which I enjoy regularly. I got into this after my first of three near death, out of body, experiences. With the last one I hit a deer while riding the 51 Harley I restored. The deer died instantly, I was seconds from dying in the hospital and miraculously my Harley suffered only minimal damage considering the circumstances! That turned into the sign I needed to move to Vancouver to pursue my welding with more intention.

For recent images and two bit opinions check out my new website: www.flamingsteel.com

Life is fun!