Hello. Hope everyone is having a great summer. The weather has been a little wacky but still enjoyable. I randomly do the farmer's market in East Dundee on Saturday mornings. I usually skip it looks like rain for sure. I skipped last week because most of the stuff I had to bring was not complete or already sold. I have several pieces being finished this week that will be for sale the next time I do the market. Anyways, this piece has been in progress for quite a while now. I would say it was well worth the wait. This piece was made for someone who enjoys biking and lives in the Washington DC area. I was given complete artistic freedom on this one. It took a while to decide what to do. I didn't want to just make a miniature bicycle. Lame. I wanted to do something different. I thought, what if I used bicycle parts to build something.
I made the capital building and then it sat for a bit while I mulled over how to finish it. Eventually, after lots of other ideas, I came up with the idea of making a seal like image of it. I took some design hints from the details on cash. Get it "capital" = money. Not bad right? I was relieved when I was done and it actually worked. Not all of the materials used were from bicycles, for example there is some re-bar used as the pillars.
Another thing I really like about this piece is the statue on the spire of the building. This is made from part of a bike crank that I shaped into a figure. The figure is a bronze by Thomas Crawford named "Statue of Freedom". I found it really interesting to include his sculpture within my sculpture. I only made the rough shape of the figure but there is no mistaking for anything other than a statue.
I am currently looking for some more substantial commissions, as I want to make more large pieces. However no job is too small. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions on anything, or even just comments. If you already own a piece of my art I would really love to see how you have it displayed. Take a couple of photos when you get a chance and send them to my email. Kellensmetalart@comcast.net
