Metal Sculpture

The work I am showing off in this slideshow is from my dad, Brian Earle Edman, who passed away a couple of years ago. I have been wanting to display his work on the site, but I didn't feel that we had the right format until now. I wish I could have created some Instructables for the processes he used to bend/tie rebar, make metal flower pedals and for his handmade hooks.

The sculptures are from the 60's when he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. He was a true artist and couldn't get his head around doing art for money, so he went the utility route and started making hooks and kitchen racks. All of his work used recycled steel and anything else he could find. He had thousands of tons of scrap metal he collected over the years at his shop.

maestra1 says: May 21, 2011. 8:59 AM

Fabulous work. Looks like he also did casting and metal-smithing? Thank you for sharing and his inspiration to like-minded artists.

eross-1 says: Mar 29, 2011. 9:45 AM

Wow! these are gorgeous! Your dad was amazing, I can't believe some of this is from rebar.

mynameisjonas says: Feb 10, 2009. 5:40 PM

wow, some fantastic work from a fantastic artist! I'm absolutely positive that if he was here today, he would be immensely proud of you. thanks so much for sharing the work of a truly wonderful artist.

stretch mark says: Dec 30, 2008. 11:23 AM

a lot of beauty here. I love the improved fire pit design for its function also. Forest service fire pits discussion later. With the portfolio displayed in this way it is interesting to witness the influences between emotional and practical. Thanks for this.

8bit says: Dec 17, 2008. 5:21 PM

Looks a lot like my drawings. Needless to say, I dig it.

sirswedishmike says: Aug 25, 2008. 11:42 PM

wow! beautiful and stunning pieces and shapes!

Chris Bilton says: Jun 19, 2008. 11:17 PM

thanks, they are wonderful and your dad was a true artist

jumbuck says: Nov 30, 2007. 1:26 PM

Your father was definitively a master craftsman , I can't help but think he'd be proud of you for displaying his creations. Thanks for sharing them , I found it very inspirational and will be heading out to the shed shortly ;-)

lebowski (author) in reply to jumbuckNov 30, 2007. 3:28 PM

Thanks. I forgot to include the fireplace he built for my mother's father for a cabin in Bear Valley, CA. This is the picture just before we pulled it out of there a few years ago. Now it's in my yard awaiting a re-work. I want to turn it into an outdoor fireplace + water sculpture. So the water would come down the outside of it, but you could still have a fire going in side.

Artekus in reply to lebowskiJun 15, 2008. 1:25 PM

I dunno, that might can thermal shock, which could put strain on the metal.... It sounds cool, though, so if you do decide to go ahead, please post :) I'm sorry about your Dad, his work is really skillful

gamer says: Dec 3, 2007. 11:26 AM

sorry for your father. nice sculpture and instructable. -gamer

T3h_Muffinator says: Nov 30, 2007. 8:36 PM

His work is simply stunning! A true artist, and I'm guessing an amazing father, as well. Thanks for posting, this has really inspired me to keep improving my metalworking skills. Hopefully I'll see some improvement in the future.

mlcorson says: Nov 30, 2007. 2:33 PM

Love this stuff. Do you know anything about his processes? It looks like some of this stuff was cast in metal. Was it? I must know more!!!

lebowski (author) in reply to mlcorsonNov 30, 2007. 3:25 PM

Just about everything he did was in steel. I'm pretty sure nothing was cast. He would just heat it up and make it look like that. It's pretty amazing. He used old car springs for the kitchen racks. He would just cut the center out.