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ou8nrtist2 — The Guimard Gate
Published: 2007-02-09 18:39:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 2360; Favourites: 26; Downloads: 93
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I have just secured a commission for this gate in forged steel.I drew the design some five years ago and am anxious to finally see it manifested. Art Nouveau is one of my favorite styles to work in and this particular design is one of my better original plans. The clients named it the Guimard Gate,(for Hector Guimard)but Victor Horta holds more of an inspirational spell over me,if truth be told...It is to be 14 feet overall,powder coated and engineered for auto opening mechanism.
I have made a concerted effort in the last 5 years to reintroduce Art Nouveau as a viable decorative arts style paired with the indigenous local "Mediterranean"architectural vernacular in Sonoma and Marin Counties. My efforts are slowly having an effect...
Here's the finished piece:
[link]
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Comments: 18
My pleasure - one day..... 👍: 0 ⏩: 0
...I'm up for Noveau 
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Seven week course in Art Nouveau ?
In school ?
In Europe somewhere?
I'd die for that if it was really in depth.
When I was 15years old I went across France by myself on motorcycle,studying art and architecture(1969).It was a great adventure.
That's when I got hooked on art Nouveau. It was such an incredibly sensuous style ,it just nailed me big time...
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...metalworking, sorry to clarify...that would be quite exciting to find though...
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I can't wait to see this... it looks incredible!
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Me too,LOL
I'm meeting with the clients in about an hour.
I've given them a deep discount simply because I want to see the damn thing manifested so badly.
But it's easy to rationalize because I'm absolutely certain I'll get other commissions from it.
It's in a very nice neighborhood and in a prominent position to be seen.
The house is a 1938 Arts and Crafts home,very well appointed...
I'm excited...
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I can't wait to see it completed! Are you using wrought iron or carbon steel? I hear that wrought iron is tough to weld unless you just fusion weld it. Anyway, it looks like a great project.
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It's actually difficult to get true wrought iron anymore. This will all be regular mild steel(carbon steel).
If it were mine I'd simply let it rust but I think these clients want a powdercoated finish.
So this means I concentrate on the SHAPE of the forgings and ignore surface texture,hammer blow marks etc.
I'll work in my buddy's blacksmith shop to make all the forged parts ,then fab it up in my studio.
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Too cool. Of course you'll show it to us when it's done, right?
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Good for you! Art Nouveau has a wonderful organic quality, and I'm glad to hear that there are those willing to commit (through their $$$) to support a revival of the style of "Le Belle Epoch"!
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I AM lucky.
However ,to a certain extent we all make our own luck...
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Nice! I especially like that it's not symmetrical (which, it occurs to me, may be an element of Art Nouveau!). I'm looking forward to seeing images of the completed work. Perhaps you can put together some photos of the piece as it's being built? That would be pretty cool...
- vonzott
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Most people would entirely miss that it's not symmetrical...
Good eye friend.
Yes, I'll try to remember to take shots of the process,better yet would be video...
It depends on how high I get in the making.
If I'm REALLY into what I'm doing ,there's a slight but significant shift of consciousness.
Like Sherlock Holmes when he's having a breakthrough.
It's called by various names in psychology,the Ah ha response is how I learned it...
If I attain that state, it precludes any awareness of documentation...
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Yeah, the eye comes from a three year stint I did designing and building large wooden yachts. EVERYTHING structural on a yacht is symmetrical. I have to force myself sometimes to be asymmetrical about certain things (which, paradoxically, defeats the purpose, eh?)
It would please me much to have you find your artistic center and only be shown final product shots. As a musician, I get few of those moments and relish them when I do. I can usually tell because I stop looking at the tits of the women in the front row... we all have our little indicators, no?
Keep us all posted at any rate. It'll be fun to see how that beast grows.
- vonzott
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