Firepits

A few years ago I went to the “Firebird Festival” where I stumbled upon several whimsical fire pits made out of acetylene tanks. These fire pits had wonderful expressive faces cut out of each tank that danced when they were lit. I loved the concept and immediately began thinking about how to make this idea my own. Propane tanks (mostly from the 1950’s) are my main source for the pits. They are made of a durable, thick metal that lends itself to a long living fire pit. Working exclusively 3 dimensional for 20 years or so, as soon as I started to draw out the patterns, I realized how much I missed working 2 dimensional. I have experimented with many different designs over the past few. A few of my favorite designs include fish, landscape, hummingbird, floral, and many custom pits.

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I pushed the limit with my most recent “Phoenix Firepit.” When cutting patterns out of the fire pit, there is always one part that will not matter since it will be cut out and discarded. With this piece I challenged myself to cut the phoenix out without damaging the bird so that I could reuse the bird on the pit. I was so excited when I made the last cut with a perfect phoenix to spare! I then offset the bird on the outside of the pit, creating a 3-dimentional surface. This added surface changes the way the light dances when it is lit. I will be experimenting with this concept on future pieces, so keep your eyes peeled there are many more to come.