Art Inspired by Nature: Soleil MetalArts Exploring the Beautiful Work of Florida Artist Shawn McCurdy……

Ribbons Birdbath (Aluminum, 30″ tall) Shawn McCurdy

As the gardening season begins to wind down, ‘Art Inspired by Nature’ —an ongoing, seasonal series here on the blog— will be returning. And like many of you —some who have written asking about what happened to the regular artist-features— I’ve missed them! One of the things I truly love about writing this online journal is the fascinating, creative people I meet and places I visit. I discovered Shawn McCurdy’s work on The Gardener’s Eden’s Facebook page, when the artist’s profile picture (see below) caught my attention in one of the comments. I’ve always been fascinated by three dimensional metalwork, and although I’ve yet to try it myself, welding seems particularly intriguing. Drawn in by her flying sparks, I clicked over to her profile page and found a link to her studio website, Soleil MetalArts. When I saw her work —particularly the garden sculpture and birdbaths made from recycled materials— I knew I just had to share her her art with all of you…

Sparks Fly! The Artist at Work

Artist Shawn McCurdy lives, and works from a converted barn-studio, in Geneva, Florida (near Orlando). Shawn began welding nine years ago —when she and her husband purchased their current property— out of utilitarian necessity. But before long, she found herself exploring the artistic possibilities of her new-found metalworking skills. Influenced by a love of nature and gardening, many of McCurdy’s pieces incorporate beautiful botanical and animal motifs. Some of the artist’s larger pieces —particularly the sculptural and functional birdbaths— also utilize unusual, recycled materials; such as traffic-light lenses…

Tendrils Birdbath (Recycled Glass and Steel – 32″) Soleil MetalArts

Shawn uses a MIG (metal inert gas) welding process, primarily for her steel and aluminum work. Other mechanical tools in her shop include instruments for cutting; such as a plasma cutter, metal bandsaw, oxy-acetylene torch, throatless shears, air tools and angle grinders. As project size and creative impulse dictate, Shawn may use a manual fly press (see below) for bending, shaping and texturing metal or a metal brake for making straight bends. Hand tools are, of course, essential to much of her work – particularly the more detailed repoussé and chasing work (this process involving shaping copper over a base of pitch with chisels and hammers). I particularly like her description of the old stand-by in metalwork process: “heat, beat and repeat”. That sounds like fun to me! The artist is largely self-taught. Early on in her career, she received a bit of help from a more experienced welder-friend, and from there on, her skills continued to develop through online research, experimentation, and lots of practice….

Shawn McCurdy – creating metal flower sculptures – templates

Shawn’s metal process reminds me a bit of Matisse and his paper collage cutouts – only she uses metal and ends up with three dimensional results!

Shawn’s fly press (used for bending, shaping and texturizing metal) in action

Hand formed pieces of Shawn’s sculpture

Assembly of work in progress…

Inside Shawn’s shop: amazing, giant metal flowers —stored outside to achieve a fine rust patina— ready to receive a finish coat to halt, or at least slow down, the process of oxidation.Detail of one of Shawn’s finished metal pieces

Poppy – sculpted metal with hand painting by Shawn McCurdy

Garghoul – A steel garden sculpture by Shawn McCurdy

Much of Shawn’s sculpture work, particularly her large garden pieces, is commissioned by private collectors. And although it was her large-scale sculpture that initially captured my curiosity as well, I quickly found myself captivated by her small-scale pieces and other work. On a more in-depth visit to Soleil MetalArts website, I discovered stunningly beautiful jewelry. I am just dying for one of her seaweed-like cuffs (Santa Claus, are you listening?)…

Shawn McCurdy – Soleil Studio – Black Ruffle Cuff

Shawn McCurdy – Soleil Studio – Bracelet Cuffs

Shawn McCurdy – Soleil Studio – Ruffle Cuff

Interested in seeing more of Shawn’s work, or learning a bit about her process? I highly recommend visiting the Soleil MetalArts page on Facebook. The artist operates her page like a blog, and regularly updates by posting her work in progress, news and other studio information. Here you will find beautiful examples of her metal sculpture and functional art objects, such as the metal planter boxes pictured below. Her work ranges in price; dictated mainly by size, material, and creative process. Prices for her jewelry begin around $100 for small copper cuffs (she also works in sterling silver, which has a slightly higher starting price-point); traffic light birdbaths start at $125; and larger pieces such the ribbons birdbath at top begin at around $1,200 – $1,500. Soleil MetalArts accepts all kinds of creative commissions, but does not do production work. Shawn McCurdy is an artist, and everything the she creates is one-of-a-kind…

Shawn McCurdy – Soleil MetalArts – planter boxes in the studio

***

For more information about Shawn McCurdy and/or to contact her about her artwork, please visit:

Soleil MetalArts Website or Soleil MetalArts Facebook Page

All photographs in this article appear courtesy of Shawn McCurdy and Soleil MetalArts, all rights reserved.

Thank you so much for making the time for this interview Shawn, and for sharing your beautiful metalwork with The Gardener’s Eden !

***

Article â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE

All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

Do you enjoy visiting The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through our affiliate links. A small percentage of any sale originating from The Gardener’s Eden site will go toward web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you for your support!

***