I made an intricate metal sculpture of a flower using: recycled sheet metal as the flower petals and leaves, gear from an Audi as the base for the flower, and three small bolts as the legs. Held inside the flower is a small ornamental marble with a Nebula design. I had a friend of mine, Noah Drew, who is a local glassblowing artist, create the marble for this collaboration project.
First, I cut the petals and leaves out of sheet metal using tin snips. Once I had the shapes that I desired, I used my bench grinder with a wire brush wheel to smooth the edges.
Next, I welded each petal onto the Audi gear. I did an inner layer of 3 flower petals, an outer layer of 3 flower petals, and another outer layer of three leaves to finish off the flower.
Next, I welded three small nuts to the bottom of the Audi gear. Once in place, I could screw in the small bolts to use as legs for the sculpture.
Next, I used a combination of Dremel tool with a wire brush, an angle grinder with a wire cup brush, and the bench grinder with a wire brush wheel, to grind off imperfections, surface rust, and sharp edges.
Next, I used pliers to bend the petals and leaves into their final positions.
Lastly, I liberally coated the entire sculpture with a glossy clear coat paint.
Once dried, the ornamental marble can be placed in the center of the flower. With the use of a small, battery-powered, color changing LED lamp the various colors inside the Nebula design of the marble can be displayed. The light shines up through the base of the flower, through the marble and out to the flower petals. The combination of the reflective surfaces of the metal of the flower and the glass of the marble give this sculpture some visions of beauty that neither flower or marble could have done on its own.
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