Can-delites, The Only Way To Burn A Candle

My first love in art was that of ceramics, pottery. It held the age-old mystique of utilitarian, with a sense of design, and the pleasure one derives from the creation of new, or unobserved dimensions. My love of recycling comes from my desire to create from what we already have, thus being able to produce, without breaking the bank, and not destroying the earth at the same time.

Tin cans opened up a new area in my frugal recycling ways, by showing me what can be done with a few cuts, a bend here, and push there. New dimensions just opened up. Some could not believe that these works were common tin cans, made to delight the eyes.

Before I used torches and the like to cut my cans, but then a new tool caught my eye, a plasma cutter. It works very well in rendering precise cuts and shapes. While producing a non-dangerous cut surface that needs no retouch. Their size is limited to the size of the cans, but not to your imagination. I have produced multiple can chandeliers I call my “Hillbilly Chandeliers“.

The cutting and shaping of one can generally take from five to ten minutes, depending on your design, and can be treated in some ways to achieve the desired “patina”. You can leave it out in the rain to rust for a rich brownish hue, or dye them with certain chemicals available in treating metals. Some are very extravagant, i.e., copper, gunmetal, etc.

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Gil-ad Arad
Gil-ad Arad

This looks amazing!
Can you please advise which plasma cutter model you were using for this delicate cutting work? A link will be very helpful.
Thank you.
Gil-ad

Bruce Penton

I’ve made these. Goes back 50 years when my dad made them. Small 00 or 000 oxy-acet welding torch tip and some old cans of all sizes. Lots of fun to make.

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