Metalwork puns are hard to forge

This is not a drill...

Once again, as it becoming a trend for the Art League demonstrator dates, the United Way building was packed--left with standing room only to get a glimpse of the metal work that Greg had brought with him and hear about how it is created.

"My dad was an auto body repairman and had his own shop for a time. I picked up the basics of metalworking from him. Eventually, I started building and racing cars. (Among them) was a 1930s-era Indy car," Koesel said. "The irony is that the very same skills needed to repair a car fender or to build a race car body from scratch are the same skills needed for creating beautiful art objects."*

Just one of many examples was this car, which he showed the crowd in his slideshow portion of the presentation.

Many of the pieces that Greg has worked on could not be brought in, given their size or permanence in location, but what he could bring in was impressive. A bell, a horse, a crane statue, high-heeled shoes, armor, and even a sheet of metal in several stage developments to show how the process was done. 

Greg discussed with the audience how to bend and shape the metal pieces he works with in order to get them into the various...shapes he needs to bring his vision to life.

And as someone who was sitting right next to his demonstration, I can tell you, it's not without a lot of effort.

In addition to using various hammers, Greg also uses various chemicals to age and color the pieces of metal he works with; he uses car paints to ensure the colors pop and last, and he welds together pieces to make them a solid form.

One example that he talked about was this garden arch and fence, explaining the process of how he created it and all the techniques he used.

Greg further discussed with the group how he obtains many of his metal pieces for his works: "I am not above doing a little 'dumpster diving' if I see something that can be repurposed. Anything from a bottle cap to a coil of steel heavy enough to need a hoist to lift is fair game."*

He went on to show the group many of his smaller, more portable works, including an aluminum sword he made that went along with a suit of armor (also aluminum) he occasionally wears to the renaissance festival. When a child attending the demonstration raised his hand and asked Greg, "is it heavy?" Greg kindly smiled and handed the sword over to the child to feel for himself.

"I choose aluminum for things like this," he said, "because it's lightweight and if I'm carrying it, I want it to be functional that way." 

Finally, Greg shared with us some of his more intricate pieces--ones that he liked to tell a story.

The Rainbow Fish is a classic children's book about a superficial fish with shiny scales that he prides himself on. One day, another fish asks him for one of those scales and he becomes defensive, stating that his scales are what makes him shine (and better than everyone else). Eventually, the Rainbow fish learns to share his scales with his friends, and everyone becomes happy in the end.

(I should note, being that my degree is in children's literature and I've studied The Rainbow Fish, I hate this story. Sure, it's a somewhat decent lesson in friendship and learning how to share and to not be vein, but it also has the reverse aspect of teaching people how to give away parts of themselves to people-please instead of setting clear boundaries. It's something I have struggled with my entire life, and learning that The Rainbow Fish is taken more in the latter way than what was most likely intended by the author upsets me. The same can be said of The Giving Tree. Except that's more about how women need to tear themselves down in support of a man than a general people-pleasing your sense of self away. Children's books! So full of interesting takes!)

Greg explained what made up the fish while telling us about his visual representation of the fish, and where it came to be displayed. (It is a beautiful piece, btw Greg. I do very much love how you've put the story in a simple visual art form. That part is breathtaking! I just can't stand the book itself--and that's cause I have over 10,000 hours in deconstructing children's books, lol.)

I also personally enjoy that most, if not all, of Greg's work has a punny name attached to it (I love a good pun!) and he seems to enjoy that as well. I always think a good title is an indication of how much a person has enjoyed the work, and from the way Greg names his pieces, you can tell he loves to do what he does.

"I am thrilled when others want to own one of my pieces. Some sell. Others I display at home. Some collect dust in the attic," Koesel said. "The important thing for me is to create something unique. I just do it because it pleases me. It's therapeutic."*

Anyway, that's what you missed at the demonstration for August!

A huge Thank You to Greg for bringing in all his work and taking time out of his day to tell us all about the fantastical work of metal working!!

And apologies for not getting this up sooner!

But, better late than never!

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

*Taken from the Monroe Evening News Article