Welding - could it be a technique in your Blue Ocean Strategies as an Artist

Welding - Consider Adding It as a Skill as an Artist

Last summer I took a five weekend course in artisan welding.  The instructor had us welding in the first class before the first hour was over!  Amazing!   In my class were two jewelry makers and an artist that cast bronze heads .  The welding we learned was oxy-acetylene welding and MIG welding.  Once you learn your welding you do not even need to have your own equipment.  In Vancouver I was told there is a studio on Powell Street where you can rent welding time.  Maybe there is a place like this near you or maybe you can use your friends equipment.  We learned MIG welding and the MIG welding does precision welds.

Summary

You do not need to be a professional welder to use welding in your art.  The skill comes quickly.  I also utilized a book on blacksmithing to get ideas on bending metal.  The oxy-acetylene welding can be used to heat metal in a way similar to a forge for larger pieces of metal - but it is more expensive than using a forge.  This sculpture shown was made out of many thin metal stips about 1 and 1/ inch by say 5 inches long.

Tips: the instructor will tell you to get cotton clothes and not synthetic clothes.  With oxy-acetlene you can see trough the goggles but in the MIG welding you cannot see anything until you torch up.  But I think for a few hundred dollars you can buy a welding helmet that runs on microcircuitry.  It detects in a small fraction of a second that the torch is lit and the lens darkens.  So no struggling in the dark.  If you choose to pursue welding you can have a lot of fun.   In MIG Welding you can drip molten metal wire onto your sculpture so you can add 3D lettering for example.

Reference

Blue Ocean strategies:  Learn how to make your art business different from the rest .http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/book/

Welding sculpture from first attempt