Steel and Stone

I like the combination of steel and stone, both strong elements that enhance each other when found together.  This is "the first bench".  No, not my first bench, the wonderful achievement of my apprentice.  Her (yes!) first furniture piece and I believe it will become a collectors item. A graceful, five foot long, sleek bench with a back and a seat of travertine.  Wouldn't you like to have the first Picasso?  That discarded Rembrandt?  Sydnee Hale will become a "name" in the art world of steel.

This is one of mine, a small two seater with a slate seating area.  It sold at a Portland Art show a couple years ago for $495.  Like all art, it is worth more now than when purchased.  I seldom make them any more.


These are my Stone Posts, my signature pieces and what
got me into iron work in the first place. They are
concrete, reinforced with steel and covered in slate,
used as fence posts, gate posts and light posts.
Another example of Steel and Stone, this is probably
the nicest Ornamental Iron fence that I have ever built.

 And another bench with slate.  Colorful, strong and graceful.  Not made in China and didn't come in a cardboard box.

There is only ONE

 It is ART, right? You gotta have places to mix paint and put the yogurt cups!

The old wood decking has five coats of urethane sealer on it.

Three in a row!  Pedestals designed for flower pots.

 2 x 6 cedar from an old deck, no rot just weathered and old.
Make a great garden table, a place to put the bounty picked from the garden. 

 Steel covered in slate flower pot. I like these and wouldn't mind keeping this one.

 I have these all over my garden, slate on steel, a place
to put my coffee, the clippers, or something just picked.
The cucumbers use them for a trellis. I admit I make a
lot of these and sell them from $15 to $45, depending on size.

Almost everything I do, there is only one of.  I find bits and pieces, interesting steel or a piece of wood and set them aside until they call me.  Most of my art is useful, decorative, unusual, but you can sit on it, use it for a table or allow the plants to grow around it.  Here are some recent pieces:

An Oak plank about 3 feet long with 100 year old iron castings.

My Simple Bench...

 Location, location, where to put it?

is done!  Sometimes simple is best.  I never really know what a bench will be until I finish it.  I only have the basic shape and size in mind when I begin it.  They sort of grow and take a life of their own.
   A lot of it depends on what I have in my shop or the graveyard behind my shop.  I almost never buy anything specifically to make a bench.  The seating area is concrete, I have shown you how I do that.  I thought seriously about "painting" this bench; I've shown you those also. You would think that painting a bench with $2 dollars worth of paint would be easier than the slate that I did, but my hat is off to artists who work with paint.  It is a lot of work!  Slate is pretty easy and Nature supplies the colors for me!
   I am still "between jobs" so I am considering making a little table to go with this bench.
   I go on about the weather like an old man!  We got 2 days of sun and then the rains came.  The forecast is more rain for a week.  I gave up on my late corn and tilled it in.  My early corn is up but barely and will never make that "knee high by the forth of July" rule.  The tomatoes look healthy but it is too cold for the blossoms to set.  It will need to be a late, hot summer for them to produce anything.  Funny weather all over.
More of what I do is HERE

Upside Down Bench Gives Birth!

Okay, I can't stay away.  The garden is weeded and some corn, a bit splotchy here and there, is up!

 concrete waiting to dry

The sun is out today and it will be a good day!  just like that and just because I said so! Attitude is everything, I know that, it is what allows me to carry whatever it is I want to carry. 
   Catchy headline, huh?  I am thinking of writing for the National Enquirer and have few words to catch your interest.  This is a true story though, it is what guys do.  It is interesting how men and women react to any kind of emotional issue, whatever it might be.  Women may cry or lose sleep or lose weight, talk with their friends, commiserate, that is a word women will understand more than a man. We are loners and just sort of suck it up. We are not good at talking "issues" and probably not much good at listening either.
  On a construction site if a guy were stupid enough to bare his soul and attempt to describe what was really bothering him, the response would be, "yeah, too bad, now let's get this roof on buddy."
It is not that we don't think while we are working.  We do, but we need the distraction. It is easier to feel our muscles ache than wondering the source of our tears.
   So, I made a bench!  It is all made from scrap and left-overs from my shop. I have made hundreds of benches in my life but don't own a single one. Most sold out of my shop before they were even finished.

 a slated bench

This one is mine!  It is steel, of course, with a concrete in-fill for the seat.  I think you can see how I do it from the photo. I am not sure how I will finish it, that remains to be seen. I could "paint" it, some kind of art paint stuff, or perhaps I will slate it.  It will have a back for sure, benches should encourage relaxing and contemplation.
   My benches are never rectangular,

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 Another bench that isn't mine!

 A "Painted" Bench

I leave those shapes to others. My only rules are flat, stable, heavy, comfortable, and never the same one twice.
This is the first "Painted" Bench I ever did and sold it while the paint was still wet.  If you are over 60 you might remember the song, "Sugar Shack".  The guy who wrote it is Jimmy Torres and you can google him for fun. He lives in Eugene, bought this bench from me and we have since become good friends.
Funny, the accidental things that happen in our lives!
More of my "stuff" is HERE.