Sculptural WINDBILESArtisan Blacksmith Darrell Markewitz of the The Wareham Forge has long been fascinated by the motion of objects influenced by the wind. The pieces here differ from conventional weathervanes, in that they are not primarily intended to indicate direction. Instead, these sculptural pieces utilize the winds to provide motion and life to their sweeping lines. Creative Inspiration - rather than the dictates of function, guide the designs seen here. |
At the heart of most of these one of kind pieces lies hand forged elements. The plastic possibilities of steel are exploited, while at the same time the inherent strength of the material remains. Sheet metal in copper, brass, aluminium or stainless steel allows for both vane surfaces, but also the creation of often elaborate three dimensional forms. |
'La Tene Rotor' / Summer 2009 We all have some piece of machinery which enthralls us. For me it is
helicopters. The too few and too short flights in military birds when
I was in the Reserve Forces are nailed to my memory.
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'Winter Wheat' / Summer 2007 This tall sculpture is the first rendition of a concept I have had
for a good while. A large slab of natural limestone serves as the base
foundation. Into this are inserted about two dozen thin steel rods.
Each rod is capped with a leaf shaped aluminium form. Each of the top
leaves will catch the wind, and because of the thinness of the supporting
rods, will start to sway. As the rods are all different lengths, the
amount of motion will vary from upright to upright, resulting in an
interesting random movement to the sculpture as a whole. Anyone who
has driven past a field of fall wheat, ripping in the wind, can envision
my point of inspiration. |
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'Celtic Winds' / Summer 2005 This piece was the first of the large free standing wind influenced
sculptures I created. I had been wanting to illustrate how the spirals
and curves so evident in Celtic Iron Age art could be extended into
the work of contemporary artists. At a fund raising auction in February
in 2005, I had purchased a quantity of medium weight sheet aluminium.
This material cut easily, and was just the right balance between holding
its shape, but at the same time light enough that much of the shaping
could be done with just my fingers. This was quite exciting for me,
as normally I am distanced from working completely spontaneously by
the forge and the hammer. |
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This was the first real windbile piece I did. It was a 'proof of concept'
- more of a prototype than a finished sculpture. The material used was
a light weight aluminium. intended for roofing repair. This metal was
coloured (dark brown) on one side, and in use proved too light to permit
out of doors mounting. Even the smallest breeze would send the fish
dancing! The colours here are applied with spray cans. |
Another cross over - this piece was created specifically for the exhibition 'Reflections of the Conquest' mounted by An Droichead at the Woodstock Museum in February of 2002. The design was directly taken from the groupings of mounted Normans seen in several places along the Bayeux Tapestry. Considering the 'cartoon like' outlines of the embroidery, I decided to stick with simple outlines - rather than detail and texture the metal sheet. The use of copper, brass and painted steel echoes the dominant colours from the original tapestry. |
Weather Vanes"What's the weather?" Perhaps one of the most commonly heard topics of conversation between Canadians. In the days before radio forecasts, every farmer knew that the direction of the wind was a sure sign of what was to come... Continue HERE for past work |
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