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 I
am Bob Lyall, a metal artist, formally trained as a journeyman
sheet metal worker. I would like to introduce you to my metal
artwork and give you a little background of how I got to where
I am today.
With the skill set of a journeyman
sheet metal worker and the right tools, I am able to create practically
anything. My passion is in the creation of artwork. I have been
doing artwork for most of my life, but I pursued the artwork,
as a full time career, beginning in the middle 1980's when I
had to travel to do sheet metal work. With a young family, the
decision was made to pursue the arts, so I would travel with
my family, rather than away from my family; that is the primary
reason I do Iowa art.
All of my work is created
from recycled metal. This concept of recycled artwork allows
my metal artwork to be much more affordable and the recycled
materials have character that is not available in new metal.
A noteworthy recycled item
is the "Capitol Copper Collection." These are items
created from over 100 year old copper that was once part of the
roof covering the State Capitol of Iowa in Des Moines. The opportunity
to get large sheets of copper with such a wonderful coloring,
was unresistible. Later the history of the metal became significant
in the marketing of the artwork. I have pins, barrettes and earrings
created from this material. The State of Iowa, apple and shamrock
pins are all created using a die to cut the metal, therefore
each of the shapes are consistent. The hearts and trees are all
free form, therefore each are unique. The Capitol Copper is truly
Iowa art!
My garden art is also very
popular items in my recycled artwork collection. I like to specialize
in metal hearts, metal stars and metal cats. Each piece may be
on a long rod for the garden, or on a short rod (mounted in stone),
in which case the piece becomes an interior item for the table.
For example the metal cat on a long rod would be an outside piece
of garden art, whereas the same metal cat on a short rod mounted
in stone could be either a interior or exterior item.
Here is a series of my garden
art pieces that I created for a local charity. The largest person
is over six foot and the smallest character is three foot tall.
I enjoy sharing my humor with the community.
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