About

I believe that everything in life is based on numbers. Everything in nature grows according to the ratio of the Fibonacci sequence. It is nature's original formula, a natural relationship of proportions we see all around us. Every living organism grows by this pattern. Spiral sea shells, butterfly wings, or the head of an opening fiddlehead fern are some prime examples of where we see this relationship most exaggerated. This organic formula is the basis of my approach to my medium. I create forms that are flowing and natural. I judge forms by the way they look. Do they look "right"? In nature when something looks "right", it's due to how closely it matches the Fibonacci proportions. When I create sculptures, I judge the form by the relationship between the parts. I work with steel by combining welding and black smithing techniques. One approach I use is to forge many pieces of steel and then assemble them into a larger form. Combining repeating forms to create a sculpture is a theme in many of my works, much the way a pattern creates a tapestry. I look at the styles throughout history that have stood the test of time. What works and what doesn't work. What has function as well as form, and yet elegance and strength of character to transcend an era. I work in steel for many reasons. I am amazed by its malleability, flexibility, strength, and longevity. The applications for steel are endless. I create a wide range of work, everything from coat hooks to elaborate arbors and gates. Most recently I have been exploring a style of moving sheet metal into sculptural forms. I hammer and mold the steel into form, heating, welding, and building up the metal, and then subtracting it again, until the spirit of the form is revealed. Large birds have been my most recent subject in the exploration of this style.

I also like to use old recycled steel in my work. I combine found steel objects together to create sculptures. It's an interesting process to build a sculpture such as one representing a person out of random steel pieces. The proportions must match and all the components should work together to accurately depict the parts of the body represented. When I go searching for pieces of metal specifically with the idea "I need feet." in mind, I'm put on a path of discovery and coincidence I would never otherwise be on. I open myself up to the complete randomness and unpredictability of the universe through this process.

There have been many styles of artistic expression throughout history. Some say its all been done. But we haven't yet been where we are today and can't really know where we might be tomorrow. In that lies the mystery of life - ever unfolding - ever spiraling. Around we go through the fashions and styles of the ages. Explorations of what the collective consciousness desires. What fulfills their needs and longings? What is the reflection of what our minds want in any given time period. The ancient Maya look at time as if it where huge cog wheels interlocked and turning through a grand 26,000 cycle. That cycle ends in the year 2012. We are right at the end of all the ways man has expressed himself in this cycle. So in a way maybe it all has been done, but then again I see this as the grand finale, and a rebirth of our creative powers through self realization of our collective consciousness. An artistic epiphany of expression. The simple thought I live by; Time is Art.

Richard Gillis
Metal Worker