Aric, thank you for your compliment, as far as imagination is concerned, let me tell you that 8.5% Belgian beer and my stock of scotch whiskey are very helpful in the realization of such a project. Anyway, just before the Christmas holidays I started with the 'Shark Sub 1.0' with multiple attacks of 'creative constipation'.
In the meantime, a commissioning work has been completed, 'The Eight B (e/a)ll lamp' a quickie of 3 days for a customer who needed a bell at his counter for waiting customers and suppliers who need attention. Everything brushed and deburred again. Including the processing of his company logo in the work.
The challenge here were the welds, given that mild steel (tubes & fittings) and the ball bearing rings (CrV) had to be welded together. If these connections are welded with 'under matching' welding additive material (S355 MIG weldings) there is a risk of brittle fracture. Not important for small work but of great importance for load-bearing constructions. I used the good old stick welder and AISI 309 electrodes for these welds 

Don't really stay in my room, but do stay in my work shop (and solitary). Et voilà, there they are, the hybrid "Marble Ants" a mix of stone and scrap. Almost ready to the varnish layer and a decent pedestal ("darn" the hardware store is closed). Hope that this time of imprisonment is over soon. Until then, like all other creatives, I have been handed over to our dear lord and the Belgian health system. Pray for all of you, and our family that even this chalice (such as SARS, MadCow-desice, AIDS, etc ...) will pass us by. Extremely happy to have the activities in the studio as an outlet, because what is happening is hurting my nerves and peace of mind. Sleep restlessly, and listen to every cough and sneeze in our house. Above all, stay healthy, and be welcome @ F & F Tumulus when the storm dies down. Cheers, Hans

Cool!

 

Where's the picnic?  With ants that size it must be a *big* one!

Those are really nice Hans. The rebar texture looks almost like the hair on the ants legs

Unfortunately no BBQ or picnic in these days and we have to eat our sandwiches alone (or share with the ants ). I think I will have much more time to work on my sculptures soon because I am now also quarantined as an auditor in the main profession. Thanks everyone for your kindly feedback.

Ants sunbathing 

Ants sunbathing eh? Is that a the nude lawn or did they sneak onto a public lawn? 

Might not make sense as a joke in Belgium but this side of the ocean the only nude beaches tend to be private and out of sight. If you want to do any nude sunbathing on the beach you have to sneak it till the authorities tell you to get dressed or haul you in. If I tried they'd probably beat me with sticks.

Nice pieces Hans. I love scrap art, wish I were better at it.

Frosty The Lucky.

Hmm make a picnic set sized for those ants and some tiny humans to go after their crumbs?

NO space on the floor anymore because of overcrowding sculptures there and luck of expositions at this moment. So I placed the little crawlers on the walls. To protect them from oxidation (in the wet outside atmosphere) and give them a place at our home. As you can see on the pictures there is also a new stock for Raku-firing of Lisa’s owls and other primitive clay ready to dry for the next biscuit-firing.

Keep on rolling,  ............... 

Another bronze cast, this time a female torso and a the next ammonite. Nice finish but like me with several imperfections.
Tomorrow I will take care of the worn out Raku-furnace to prepare him for the next firing after Lisa and Diana made up a lot of new biscuit 

Hello Ladies, and gentleman, Very happy that I was able to continue working all this time. Numerous audits performed in REMOTE means long distance. I am now well aware of numerous features and possibilities in MS Teams and Skype for Business, also thanks to my experience at my previous employer where this way of intercommunication (international) has long been for Covid- 19 was common practice. Very tiring and you miss the sense of "non verbal" communication even though the video chat is on. Not that I applaud the situation, think everyone is partly suffering from the isolation. This is pleasant for me because, in addition to a working day of +8 hours, I could save a travel time of (sometimes) 4 hours per day. Time that I could now spend in my studio instead of in a traffic jam.
See the result the 'Jet boosted Dragonfly' a new sculpture added to our oeuvre and hopefully to be seen in a public space soon. Happy to have inspired many Scrap items again, but go on a journey of discovery yourself. Just like the ant collection soon at a well-known Belgian sugar refinery. Cheers, Hans

Ants to a sugar factory---most excellent! (Or should I say *sweet*!)

Sweet indeed , that's what their marketing department thought to. The little ants will be placed on metal bases shaped like their hard sugar cubes with plasma cut company logos. Will post some pictures here if they are there.

Thanks!  Now tell them to put lights inside to glow through the cutouts!  (And don't make them a sign that says "Them!")

 

Already working on a next project, the 'mechanical boar' a combination of bones, ironwork and upcycled scrap components. Not really a tasty picture, but ready for further processing after bleaching and disinfection in hydrogen peroxide.

Regarding the lights, good idea :-)

The University I got my first degree from uses a boar as it's emblem/mascot: The University Of Arkansas Razorbacks.

You can get plastic hog hats to wear too: 

I'll be interested to see your sculpture when it's done.

Hans, welcome back. What a great pleasure to scroll through all your wonderful and totally unique sculptures here. The cassowary is especially appealing to me, as I live in cassowary country. The lantern fish is so creative - a real masterpiece. Your work is truly inspirational. Could I suggest that you create a platypus? I'm sure your take on that would be astounding.  

 

Hello Ausfire, thank you very much for the kindly response, you can hardly imagine what this means for me. After all, you are the real teacher and I may be a reasonable apprentice. As for the Anglerfish, the Cassowary and the Mosquito, these are spin-offs of works where I got my inspiration from highly regarded artist colleagues, and tried to interpret them in my own interpretations of steam-, diesel-, and atomic punk version 2.0. As for the shark, dragonfly, fire ant and owl, these are self-contained sculptures that were created solely on the basis of macro photos and entirely made from my gut feeling. Now I'm waiting for better times to exhibit the entire animal collection and sell some of the work. Since all works are finished in such a way that they are suitable for body contact, they were therefore very laborious and took a lot of time and work. A curse and blessing at the same time because they can be placed both indoors and outdoors and the public to paying customers here in Belgium is quite thin. Have seen a lot of nice new inspirations from you again (bullheads, business card holders etc.) and do not get exhausted to indicate my own interpretation here as well. You will continue to follow closely and are grateful for all the inspiration you give us (the IFI community).

Now for the Calder inspired mobiles!  Though probably impossible to get past the European safety regulations... Perhaps in the Middle East?

Hans, I have looked back over your work again - there is just so much to see there. I have a small Facebook site here dedicated to scrap art . Would it be OK to post your Anglerfish photo? I'm sure others would love to see that?

Aus -be welcome to share what you want -please send me your FB adres/data to have a look as well, Cheers, Hans

5 hours ago, ausfire said:

 I have a small Facebook site here dedicated to scrap art

I finally bit the bullet and created a new account after a ten year divorce from Facebook. If you wouldn't mind sending me the name of your Page I'd really like to join or take a look. Thanks

Pnut

Some of my friends are beekeepers, after seeing my other insects (ants, mosquito, dragonfly) I was asked to make a Steampunk 'F&F Tumulus Bee' as well. Here a first start. The pedestal will become a mechanical flower this time. Too bad I don't have punch caps anymore to finish the animal's skin.
Everyone talks about or has a 'Drone' these days, some of my good friends fly with it regularly, soon I will have one too. .

Are you going to mount some brass brushes on the legs as pollen collectors?