Forging metal is as old as our very own history, where strength meets the cleansing heat of fire, melting into a durable piece of art. I have always been intrigued by metal weaving, of the amount of time and patience given to achieve an object of beauty.
The artwork takes on a modernist approach to metal art, at a dimension of 34 x 30 inches. It is currently being sold at $3000, which I believe is fair enough, considering the craftsmanship and details given to the work.
More About the Artist:
Tom L. DeHoog has been working primarily in metal for just a few years, and many of his pieces represent the first and, sometimes the only example of a particular direction or idea.
Why Metal?
I love to work in metal, and I owe a great deal to the focus that 'weaving' provides me. The goal of my art is to please visually. I want my work to entice your eye into enjoying the earthy complexities and designs again and again each time you see them.
Working with metal continues to hold a special attraction for me. I have exercised my artistic energy in many other areas, in and out of doors. I have been an avid ornamental gardener in landscape construction. Working with soil and working with metals have similarities. Like soils, metal can be altered and shaped. Reshaping to fit your needs and artistic ideas is not easy though without imposing various forces. Forces, when working with metals that include heat and the impact of a hammer are part of the appeal because of the way the metal reflects those events.
This work is a careful fusion of stainless steel, titanium and copper in a dimension of 1100 x 400 x 500mm. It is simple yet sophisticated in form, and have captured my taste for contemporary minimalism. It somehow reminds me of a fallen twig and leaf that is a beauty in itself, if only the eyes would look beyond what is ordinary. This piece would make a curious addition to modern lofts and contemporary homes. The artist surely knows how to bring out the life from cold metals.
More About the Artist:
Murray Swan was born in Tauranga, New Zealand and moved to Auckland with his family as a youngster. He developed an artistic flair during his intermediate school years, but chose not to persue art in favour of an engineering career. He did a woodworking and metalwork course at Kelston Boys High school and then a 5 year Apprentiship with Air New Zealand (then TEAL).
The training and experience he gained as an aircraft engineer both in New zealand and the United States over the next 34 years gave him some of the fairly unique practical and design skills he would need to express his artistic leanings later in life.
What is Your Philosophy?
It is my desire through my art, to reveal the inherent beauty within some of the metals we commonly use. The textures colours and shapes available from many metals are often taken for granted and sometimes not used to their full advantage. Living in close proximity to one of New Zealand's active volcanic hot-spots, one is sometimes reminded of the part nature has to play in the production of some basic metal elements. It is not uncommon for volcanoes to give up gold, silver, iron etc., during an eruption.
Within my artwork, I can express what I think are our links to the past, and the many uses of metals over the ages, with frequent references to the explosive creativity of nature's forge. It is my personal challenge to explore to the greatest possible depth, all the elements of colour, texture and form that can be achieved from the metals I work with.
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Tom L. DeHoog has been working primarily in metal for just a few years, and many of his pieces represent the first and, sometimes the only example of a particular direction or idea. 
