Rebecca Welz

My sculpture is inspired by natural wonders and ecological processes that combine to give us biodiversity. It is also about the hand that humans have in sustaining or destroying our biodiversity. My sculpture is made of hard, straight, round steel rods of varying thicknesses. The steel is heated with an oxy-acetylene torch so that it can be bent and kinked and curved. The pieces appear light but they have the weight of steel. My work grows out of the knowledge of the fragility of our planet. It meshes nature and the impact that humans have on our environment.

My process is completely intuitive, as if I had a piece of charcoal in my hand and was drawing curves of varying kinds, around and under and over. The making is an additive process, bending piece upon piece, attaching one to another until form is made. The intuitive and random nature of this building process gives the impression that there are no beginnings and no ends to the lines. These are three dimensional drawings that can be seen through and around on all sides.