When flames shot up the professor's sleeve, it put an end to welding class.
But it marked the start of Christina Nick's relationship with the fabrication form.
Oh, the professor was fine, Nick says, after taking a seat in a small office at the Brackendale Art Gallery (BAG).
Moments earlier, Nick was behind a heavy-looking welding helmet in a studio adjacent to the gallery. Welding with torch in hand, Nicks concentrated on the bright blue flame, as she fused a piece of metal to her life-sized cougar sculpture.
I was taking a degree in printmaking and photography, Nick says, as she removes the leg straps to her leather apron. And I wanted to make a really big horse.
The former Mount Allison University student started the project with plaster, but quickly realized she needed a new material. That's when welding came into play. With or without a class, Nick was determined to learn the craft.
There is a lot of romance around welding, she said. One takes a hard substance and with the use of intense heat, transforms it to suit his or her needs, Nick said.
Nick's work focuses on animals. It's a subject matter that took her some time to be comfortable with.
I used to resent the fact that it was animal sculptures, she said. There is a perspective that animal art isn't serious. It is always a bit pooh-poohed.
Nick's creatures are big, really big. Her rusty metal horse is large enough to ride, her stoic bald eagle looks like it could easily fly away with a toddler and her cougar, its head not yet completed, stands as tall as most bicycles. They're life-sized, Nick says. She pauses and then admits with a smile that they usually end up 10 per cent bigger than their natural form.
Forging the animals together so that they tower above us helps people understand the creatures, says Nick, who spent years working as a wildlife guide and park ranger in 小蓝视频's park system. People can interact with the sculptures, touch the metal and generally size them up.
That is the way I like to look at it, she said.
On Saturday and Sunday (April 20 and 21), Nick is hosting a welding and metal art workshop for beginners at the BAG. To register call (604) 898-3333 or email [email protected]. The classes cost $160 and include materials.
What I do like to do in any class is empower people, Nick says.
For more information visit www.BrackendaleArtGallery.com.
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