The inspiration for this piscine work came from piece of copper that I found in my favorite scrap metal yard. In a mangled, tangle of copper tubing I first saw a sea creature’s tentacles and then the tail fin of an exotic fish. Hence, the inspiration for this work displayed in a small image to the right and in the slideshow below. It is made mostly of copper, bronze and stainless steel.
Once straightened, polished and arranged properly, this tangle of copper tubing was in my mind so obviously the tail of the fish that I set about creating the rest of the creature. (It’s sort of a tale wagging the fish kinda story, I guess!) From the internal stainless steel structure to the bronze body to the copper fins and head, the metals are almost entirely recycled materials gathered from the same scrap yard as came the “tangle of copper” tail. Inspiration, imagination and elbow grease comprise the rest of the ingredients bringing this sculpture to fruition.
I wanted this fish to be proudly and elegantly displayed so I designed a 45 inch tall steel plinth. The top of the plinth is a steel platform fitted with a single mounting point that permits the entire fish sculpture to spin on a half inch thick brass rod. It may even turn in the wind; I don’t know as it hasn’t been around long enough for me to see how it works in the sculpture garden.
Behold, Catch of the Day. To get a better look, you can see the slideshow below which reveal various steps and stages in the process of creating this sculpture, including the fabrication of the stainless steel interior skeletal structure and the hammered-bronze strips that serve at the scales on the body surface.
Catch of the Day is held in a private collection.
tcmsculptures
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