Sculptor Chris
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sculptorchris.bsky.social
Sculptor Chris
@sculptorchris.bsky.social
110 followers 300 following 61 posts
Artist, Associate Professor. Fabrication and Molten Metal. They/Them.
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sculptorchris.bsky.social
Installed number 106 from my Biomechanical Evolution series, an outdoor sculpture, on 3 year loan yesterday- 2 cast iron columns and fabricated steel. She seems happy in her new temporary environment.
The artist using a cordless hammer drill to drill holes into a concrete pad to mount a large, abstract sculpture. It’s made of steel tubes, rolled into curving shapes, painted a dark red that references muscle tissue, with 2 large vertebral iron castings painted flat white. The dark red and white sculpture as viewed from the nearby walking path. The tubes sweep up and to the left from the base plate, forming a strong curve upward and around the mounted castings. Third view of the sculpture, from the opposite side, where the curving tubes end and appear to reach out toward the viewer.
September 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Outdoor sculpture rotation- moved from Sculpture Walk Springfield in Missouri to Bella Vista, Arkansas. All fabricated aluminum. Me for scale. I still like this piece.
A sculptor sitting with legs crossed in front of a large, abstract fabricated aluminum sculpture, painted in fluorescent green candy striping with black pinstriping. It’s outdoors, with large trees in the background.
May 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
I was notified that I got tenure yesterday, and my students made me this. This is better than the official letter.
A tri-fold, written in sharpie, that says congratulations on your ten yours. Use them wisely! The middle section is filled with signatures. The bottom section is divided into 10 tear-off strips that say “your”.
April 25, 2025 at 11:53 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
New iron casting exhumed from her bonded sand mold this weekend. Cast at the National Conference for Cast Iron Art and Process, poured off my students’ competition furnace. This was made by direct carving into the mold waste from a cast iron skillet mold, and I’m so pleased it.
An iron casting sitting on the burned sand from its mold. It’s heavily textured, with a partial outer ring from the skillet form of its original mold, and a central ring with radial “fins” of metal protruding outward. Same casting from a side angle, showing the bottom of the skillet form. The metal is bright, shiny iron with hints of blue. A third angle from which the original skillet form is completely lost in energetic, textured “fins” carved into the sand.
April 22, 2025 at 1:39 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Snow day sculpture time. New additions to my current large work in progress. Cast iron and fabricated steel.
A large metal sculpture, with steel sheet arcs in a radial pattern welded onto a large iron casting. Larger steel tubes rolled into arcs curve around the central form, in non-concentric orbits. A large metal sculpture, with steel sheet arcs in a radial pattern welded onto a large iron casting. Larger steel tubes rolled into arcs curve around the central form, in non-concentric orbits. A large metal sculpture, with steel sheet arcs in a radial pattern welded onto a large iron casting. Larger steel tubes rolled into arcs curve around the central form, in non-concentric orbits.
February 18, 2025 at 11:59 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Some new work in progress. New sculpture with scavenged tire and steel. And some cast wax hedge apples from an Osage orange tree.
A mid sized free standing sculpture from the side. A curved piece of 1.5 inch tubing through the middle, with a large, torn truck tire in a spiral around it, with steel brackets welded around the tire, welded to tubes, to hold the tire in place. The previous sculpture from a different angle, looking through the center of the spiral. 2 castings of hedge apples, around fist sized, in traditional victory brown foundry wax.
January 26, 2025 at 1:44 AM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Ran some iron this weekend. It was a good time. Only burned myself a little bit. A small pour, we ran through around 600 lbs of metal in under an hour and a half.
A cropped image. The side of a small artist blast furnace, 3 slag holes under a wind belt. There are chalk drawings on the sides, including yeeehaw in big text. The interior is visible through the holes, staring to glow a slight orange during the burning in process.
December 9, 2024 at 4:12 AM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
New little sculpture, work in progress from the holiday break. Cast iron, steel, and copper. I love this little casting, pleased with how it’s going. The casting was made by direct carving into bonded sand mold waste.
A small sculpture. Two curved pieces of steel tubing with a small iron casting in the middle. The casting has central rings and flashing fin-like panels off the back, resembling an abstracted spinal column. There are thin, curved rods of copper extending from the top and bottom of the piece, connecting to a small steel disc suspended behind the casting.
December 2, 2024 at 4:22 AM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Exhibition shot of one of my cast iron columns (I think it’s number 93?)- I dig this image of it in the old powerhouse-now-gallery at Sloss Furnaces Historic Landmark. Also pre and post shots from a performance I did on site, collecting and cataloging stories. Both shows were a couple weeks ago.
Image of a cast iron sculpture. It’s a vertical column, referential to a spinal column, with welded on steel, bronze, and brass elements. The background is old mechanical power equipment. A round table with an aluminum clipboard case, some ink pads, and a row of laser cut stamps. The stamps are color coded, and also have steel plates showing the color coding and text. They say “not my fault”, “it slipped”, “should have known better”, “to save my life”, and “no show”. The colors are OSHA blue, red, orange, white, and yellow. After image of the performance- table top with stamps and steel plates, showing the row of corresponding color-coded spikes (each around 3 feet tall) with incident report forms tabbed onto them.
November 17, 2024 at 5:34 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Spent some time in Birmingham AL last week for a conference- aside from all the amazing sculpture, talks, and panels- I got to check out this old coke oven, shut down by the clean air act.
Side view of an old coke oven, for coking coal for iron casting. One wall of rusted steel separated into rows of tall, thin sections. Each has a small enameled number sign, white with a blue background. A long rusty steel oven tube with many circular ports. Each port has a lever and a counterweight. There are trees and vines growing out from underneath. A photograph from below, large overhead bins with openings connected by long rods. The whole section is the size of a building, and on steel rails. An old operator tower, with walls rotting through. 2 ramps connect there, one from the ground and the other up to a higher tower.
November 13, 2024 at 1:23 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Repairing and touching up 3D prints of Least Terns (focusing on the Interior population) and Piping Plovers for a visiting artist gig next week. More repairs are needed on the Plover, but getting closer to gating and investing for lost wax/PLA casting.
3D Prints of Interior Least Tern skulls and Piping Plover skulls with red wax repairs. 5 are life sized, around 2 inches long, from a resin printer. 3 are significantly larger, around 7 inches long, from an extrusion printer.
September 28, 2024 at 8:23 PM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
Okra’s doin good. 🌱
A hand held open, palm up, holding a large okra pod spanning the entire hand
August 18, 2024 at 2:38 AM
sculptorchris.bsky.social
New outdoor piece up at Sculpture Walk Springfield, in Springfield, MO. All fabricated aluminum, she’s looking bright with her new paint job.
A sculptor standing in front of an outdoor sculpture. It has 3 big rings, 3 vertical posts with ball ends, and 3 planes of perforated sheet. It is sanded aluminum, with stripes of fluorescent green and black pinstriping. an outdoor sculpture. It has 3 big rings, 3 vertical posts with ball ends, and 3 planes of perforated sheet. It is sanded aluminum, with stripes of fluorescent green and black pinstriping.
April 26, 2024 at 9:41 PM