IIW welded art exhibition, 2021

ANN GILDNER (USA)

Although an artist for over 40 years, Ann Gildner began welding ten years ago and particularly likes to create large public and private art. Her Gildner Gallery Studio allows her to create large scale metal sculptures from 2 to 40 plus feet high in the welding school she teaches at, Industrial Arts Institute, Onaway, Michigan. Using metal as a sculpting tool has opened her creative ideas for them to live outside. “If I can draw it, I can make it with metal by heating, curving, twisting and best of all using molten metal as my building material for texture. I love metal because you take a flat piece of sheet metal and move it into an organic growing image”. Her range of public art includes 3D art pieces, relief sculptures, re-cycled repurposed artworks, mixed metal art as well as large outdoor sculptures. She particularly enjoys “Community-involved Works” with the collaborative sense of having a vision and carrying it through to realization bringing people together. She also guides communities to create their own “Installation art” which is site specific art designed to change your perspective about that space. Exhibit “HUMMINGBIRD AND COSMOS” This sculpture is a realistic image of a hummingbird and flower created in steel. Ann used Metal Inert Gas (MIG) and Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding techniques to create this piece. As a sculptor, she uses her welding machine as a sculpting tool to create texture by adjusting the welding parameters to give the molten metal the consistency she needs. The TIG welding is mostly autogenous but some wire was used for the feathers because she wanted a very clean weld with very little filler metal used. When she works with animals and flowers, she designs them with her CAD program and transfers it to her CNC plasma machine where she can burn out a large quantity of the same size feathers, petals or fur. The hummingbird has 150 feathers in 5 shapes and sizes. Another advantage of working with a CAD program is that she can adjust the size of her sculptures easily. The finish is natural patina. Dimensions 6 ft. high x 3.5 ft. wide x 3.5ft. deep Contact info E-mail: gildnergallery@gmail.com

12