RISE

Life is difficult.

Whatever you may face,

go forth and rise!

I hope that whoever finds and purchases this sculpture will connect to it as much as I have. Aptly named, “RISE”, the pose this stainless steel man strikes is meant to display strength and a stance against what he has faced and will continue to face. I have always wanted to make a full-bodied sculpture in this gesture. There is something unique, subtle and captivating about it. Whenever I look at him, I imagine it is a small man in a room of giants. When you look at him, (you being a giant to him) you can actually FEEL him staring back at you without fear. in the right light, in the right location on display, you can feel slightly differently about him. At times, you get the sense he is looking up at the stars, longing and hoping for a greater and more hopeful future. At other times, you can feel his strength as if he has accomplished something incredible. Or, perhaps, he knows something is approaching that he must face and with his chest out and shoulders back, he is ready.

I truly hope at least ONE of these things bonds this steel man to his new owner.

His head is faceless (referred to in sculpting as a ‘Loomis Head’). There is something so fantastic to me about the Loomis Head - it leaves the door open for interpretation for the beholder and allows more focus of emotion on the body language of this man.

If you are unfamiliar with my work, this sculpture, like all of my work, is completely made using build-up welds using TIG. This process allows me to place and move stainless steel around as if it were clay! I have to heat the metal and make it literally liquefy in order to make the metal do what I want. Due to the extreme temperatures, the metal is left a “burned” and black finish. The surface of the metal is textured and rippled from the welds but is still smooth and soft to the touch. I use motor oil as a final step while it is still hot to darken and “moisturize” the surface. Though it is blackened, it is still 100% stainless steel!

A detail you may notice are his ribs - using build up welds to connect his chest and back muscles, I left it open and exposed. You can see tiny bits of light right through his ribs/chest; A detail that was initially a mistake, but intentionally left for interest and depth!

SPECS:

Weight: 5 lbs 5 oz

Height: 11.5 inches

*SPECIAL NOTES/DETAILS*

He is permanently welded to his base which is a solid machined slab of stainless and has both my logo and signature deeply and indefinitely etched into it.

The last four photos show the sculpture displayed in a glass dome (NOT INCLUDED) which you can purchased from amazon for $50 for an extra level of display-class! It looks amazing in person!