The journey to becoming a successful artist is rarely a straightforward one. To reach the destination, you have to be open to every opportunity. The same applies to fabricators who want to dive into metal art sculpting.
Venturing into metal sculpting is confusing. Starting feels like looking at several paths, not knowing the best course to take. Add to that the kind of machine you should choose to start your metal sculpting endeavors.
We’re here to untangle that for you. So clear your head and focus on these two paths: collaborating with artists and becoming your own. As for the welder of choice: Everlast TIG Welder is a good machine to start. Stick around and find out why.
As an aspiring metal sculptor, working with artists, whether for profit or not, will give you the experience you need to become more than just a person who bends and welds metals. This will help you develop your artistic craft as well.
Collaborating with artists and commissioning work for them can be profitable and fun. Here’s what’s in store for you if you decide to take this route early in your career.
Sculptors who like to make something huge are out there. Artists like Jeff Koons or Jaume Plensa are a few popular sculptors known to do large-scale ideas. They’re not the only ones, though. Emerging sculptors with big ideas are everywhere but don’t have the technical expertise to execute the vision properly.
This is where art fabricators – like you can enter the picture and make the vision a reality. If you’re someone new and are looking for a bigger challenge, the opportunity to do big projects can only come with artists who dream big. Work with them.
It can be a fulfilling experience to contribute to making an artist’s vision come to life. But it’s even more satisfying if you can enhance it. Fabricators can do that. By putting their own artistic welding skills into the artwork, they enhance the result and make it look better than what the artist has in mind.
In line with having welding skills, fabricators have knowledge of different welding processes. The most important one being tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding.
Fabricators can help artists by means of consulting. They can look at the artist’s plan for the project and offer advice and recommendation as to how TIG welding can help. By letting them know what is possible, an artist can shift their goals for their artwork.
The transfer of knowledge goes both ways for the fabricator and the artist. When they work together to create an artwork, the fabricator can also pick the artist’s brain about their artistic process. The artist can also advise on how to conceptualize an art piece. This is a recipe for gaining discoveries.
This is the fun part. You can make it your business to offer fabrication work for artists who want to turn their vision into a tangible reality. You can also offer other services such as project management and art installation services for large-scale projects.
Services like these attract high-paying artists. So be sure you make everyone know you offer such service and hustle for the big money gigs.
Attracting artists to your circle requires that you become an artist yourself. Most fabricators who help other artists start as one. They just happen to choose metal as their medium. They start small and work on basic metal art projects; then, they progress to more complicated ones.
The option to become their own artist is always available for anyone who welds. It’s all a matter of walking down that path. Here are some good reasons to nudge you in that direction.
The freedom to plan your concept, choose your metal workpieces, and just have a go at it is satisfying. You get to express your creative self fully. As a result, you’re more motivated to create the best result because it is your art. And that art represents you.
Finishing an art project, no matter how simple or complex, brings fulfillment. However, creating something from scratch is difficult. As you go through the process of planning and execution, you experience obstacles and challenges along the way.
It may even go so far as you wanting to scrap the project and start over. When you do decide to push through to completion, that’s when you feel fulfilled.
Artworks can be sold for profit, so being your own artist means you get all the money if you decide to sell. Your artwork can fetch small and large amounts of money depending on its perceived value. No matter how much money the art is sold, you alone receive it.
Credit is another awesome thing about doing your artwork. You just feel ecstatic seeing your name etched on a finished piece.
Doing art projects is a way to hone your TIG welding skills. Most metal art pieces currently on exhibit involve intricate details that only TIG welding can achieve. So creating your detailed artwork will put your TIG skills to the test, and as a result, you get better with every experience.
Nothing beats a good TIG welding machine to hone your TIG skills. Therefore, it has to have what you need to support your creative spirit.
We think the Everlast 210 EXT TIG welder is a formidable chisel for a metal fabricator. Here are the reasons why.
Powerful — The Everlast 210 EXT runs at an astounding 250 amps of power. With this much juice, you can weld thicker metals. Yet, it can also turn the intensity down for thinner metals. As a result, you’ll have more range when working on different metal thicknesses and metal types. The more metals you can weld, the more you can hone your skills.
Consistent — The Everlast welder power TIG 210 EXT can run a pass longer than average TIG welders sold in the market. At a 60% duty cycle, you’ll get to run a join TIG weld for more than half the time of your welding sessions. That means you get more consistent welds and longer exposure firing that welding arc until you master it.
Versatile — The Everlast TIG welding machine lets you change the current to either AC or DC. You will be able to control your welding configuration better when faced with more challenging workpieces. Some metals just respond better to a certain setup, and the option of AC or DC helps a lot. Another factor that contributes to Everlast’s versatility is its dual voltage capacity. You can plug this in on almost all available outlets, and it will still work as smoothly.
We hope this article helped you in your path to becoming a paid metal sculptor. The best part is these two options can be done simultaneously if you wish to do so. But no matter what your action plan is, the Everlast TIG machine will serve you and your career well.
Everlast is a sturdy and simple welder perfect for fabricators wanting to develop and refine their TIG skills. It sets them up for success as they try to build a profitable career in metal art sculpting. The electrical current and voltage options, the high amp, and the above-average duty cycle all fit together to support you in your quest to become a metal sculptor, as your own or for other artists.
If you want to check out more machines, explore our website. You’ll find TIG machine reviews and guides to help you pick what’s right for you.