Sandy in her work gear. Pretty fancy, right?
Many people ask me if I have been trained to weld and why I decided to take up the hobby. I love to garden and when I created multiple gardens at our first home, I was in the market for something unique to complement them. I couldn’t find anything that appealed to me so I decided to take a stab at making something that incorporated my love of rocks. As I had no formal training, my approach was rudimentary, but sometimes ignorance breeds a new style of approach. Although I’m sure there was an easier and more industrial way to create a sculpture, I loved the fact that my creation was unique and done completely by hand. So here I am 18 years later, still making rock art and expanding my skills to bigger pieces for my sculpture trail and commissions. Every piece still done by hand with a bench vise, a plasma cutter and hand grinder and a welder.
My workspace consists of a 8′ x 2′ workbench with a vice mounted on it and a welder and plasma cutter by my side. Add a grinder, some vice grips, a wire brush and emery cloth and that completes all the tools I need to make my sculptures! Surprising that so little tools and some brute strength on my part can create such hefty garden art pieces!
I am really enjoying my new workspace. Having worked in many environments, I have had some time to think about an ideal setup and this is it. I’m enjoying the outdoors while I work. What more can you ask for? My “Rockhound Reg” is usually in a shaded spot by my side and occasionally my workbench is put to a different use, a good shave to cool him off!
