Red Kites Sculpture – James Phillips Foundation

Six Stylised Bird Sculptures Proudly Displayed in Amersham

A commissioned project that I designed from the beginning and created each individual bird from various photographs and personal observations.

The birds were had beaten and shaped for strength and structure but also to include the aesthetics of the birds themselves, Each bird started out being cut from a sheet of stainless steel in to various shapes which I then hammered by hand to the desired shapes before welding.

The birds were flame coloured to enhance their appearance.

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The Challenges

There were several challenges to overcome.. A special stainless steel was used that doesn’t harden and break with aggressive wind. This meant I couldn’t heat the metal to work it. It was all shaped cold and therefore took longer and was quite exhausting.Another challenge was the increased weight due to the metal. Stainless steel is much heavier than normal steel. So the metal was shaped to give more strength. I followed the shapes and forms of the bird and created forms to make the birds very strong. I also wanted to hide all the strengthening pieces within the body of the bird and hidden from view.

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