Handcar Regatta

As part of the ongoing series on Kindred Hackers, an extensive interview with local metal-mistress, Rebecca Nase, has been conducted to further edify our growing community of Northbay builders, makers, and all those who appreciate them.

Rebecca Nase first became known to the Handcar Regatta for her astounding metal work on my very own special award known as the “Erasmus P. Kitty Honorary Award” that was aptly received by Krank-Boom-Clank and their stunning Hennepin Crawler (see following trophy image below).

And now on to the interview with Rebecca Nase, Twisted Perception Metal Works:

Erasmus P. Kitty: Explain your medium.

Rebecca Nase: Mostly I work in steel but I try to incorporate found materials as well. I like to collect interesting objects ranging from gears to antlers, to glass insulators. When I have an idea I curve and weld pieces of steel around one (or more) of these found objects, adding elements until it feels complete to me.

EPK: How would you describe yourself and your style of work?

RN: I’m a pretty neat and organized person. Tasks that I have to accomplish, as well as art projects that I create, play this kind of Tetris game in my head; this comes first, then this fits in here when I do that, after, I can squeeze this one in.

My process is pretty rapid and rhythmic. I don’t exactly see the end result when I begin, I just want to show the beauty of the material I use.

EPK: How did you get your start in metal work?

RN: I went to art school in Brooklyn, NY (Pratt Institute). I actually wanted to be a painter when I started school. My 3-D professor freshman year was a bit of a nut, totally outside of the box dude who reminded me of Andy Warhol (looks and everything).

He always pushed me to really search, think and create the best I could. I sewed screen and twisted wire with most of my projects that year. My professor told me that I had to learn how to weld. I was intimidated and thought that he was crazy, but it always intrigued me.

It took a year and a half before I even stepped foot in the metal shop. I signed up for a class and as soon as I started using the tools and making things out of steel it was all over! I loved it! Anything I made from then on was steel. I took every class the metal shop offered and quickly became a tech in the shop teaching people how to work with metal.

EPK: If you were marooned on an island with scrap metal and just three tools, what would they be and what would you build?

RN: My 3 tools would have to be: an oxyacetylene torch (which enables me to cut, weld, and bend), a striker (to light the torch), and a hammer (to persuade the metal to go my way). I would build a giant saucer in the middle of an open space on the beach.

During the day I would hope that the sun would reflect up as a beacon of light for any possibility of some passers by to see. At night I would build a huge fire, lit by my torch, again to attract planes or boats. If neither of these attempts worked to get me off the island, I would through it in the water and see how it floats.

EPK: What is most challenging in your work or the skill you’d most like to improve?

RN: The most challenging thing for me ia making things exactly as indicated. I’ve worked with carpenters who always nail their cuts, and they have to in wood. There’s no going back after a wood cut. In metal, you can get away with most things not being perfect cause you can always fill it in with weld.

As far as straightness goes, I can do it, but don’t really like it. Nothing is perfect in this world, it’s just an illusion. In my opinion, curvy things are more interesting anyway.

EPK: Do you draw a line between commercial and personal work? Explain why or why not and how it affects your process and/or result.

RN: There is most definitely a line between commercial and personal work. In commercial work there is a plan, an end result, and rules to be followed. When you work for someone, they have to be satisfied with the end product.

When I make my own work I answer to myself. If I get frustrated with the direction of a project, I can stop working on it until I feel like messing with it again.

Time is a big issue in commercial work that really doesn’t matter in my personal work. I find that with out the pressure of those constraints, I work faster in my own projects. Also, because I have no end result set, I can have happy accidents and go with the flow of things.

EPK: Which project are you most proud of?

RN: I would have to say my Burning Man project. I hadn’t built anything that large since college and the challenge jump started me. This was my first year ever at Burning Man so I was determined to make this piece pop.

I actually came up with the concept in college and made something similar then, but this attempt was much more successful. Besides the fact that I was proposed to under it while I was building it, and we’re getting married under it!

EPK: Describe your Burning Man project and how it was received.

RN: The Burning Man project has the awful name of Spinal Space, which desperately needs to change. Anyway, Spinal Space is a kind of gazebo made of steel rod. It stands about 14ft tall and 9ft wide. There are three legs that are nearly identical, a top canopy complete with a motorcycle chain flag, and an inside 3-petaled moving element.

The entire structure was made from arched pieces of steel rod cut and welded into patterns that remind me of insect wings. There are 3 arch ways where people can enter the sculpture. Once inside you can push the inner moving element and have it spin around you changing patterns and shapes.

The 3 petals are one unit that reach down to about knees or waist. All 3 petals are nearly identical to each other and in a resting position line up with the 3 outside legs.

At Burning Man my fiancee hooked up solar panels to EL (Electro Luminescent) wire that we ran along various lines of the sculpture, including the inside spinning piece. At night it was a glowing tent with swirling colors. Someone actually left us a ribbon dreaming us the Grand Champion of Trippiest Shit.

EPK: How would you describe Burning Man in relation to yourself and/or your work.

RN: I was pretty floored at Burning Man. There are so many talented crazy people running around. Everyday life kind of muffles the raw artistic talent and ideas most people have. It is a beautiful thing to see the explosion and release of expression.

My work is a release for me, all of my ideas can get bottled up inside me. They need somewhere to go and I push then into my art work. When I go though a dry spell of not creating things I tend to get real irritated and end up exploding into my work.

That’s actually what happened when I made Spinal Space. I worked really fast with a lot of long nights just trying to get it all out and done. I think that a lot of people build up their crazy artistic-ness all year so that they can explode and release at Burning Man.

EPK: Where do you find inspiration and who are your heroines (or heroes)?

RN: Even though she’s a made up person, I would have to say that Rosie the Riveter is most definitely my hero. She’s cute and tough all in one. I’ve had some issues with some male macho mentality in my line of work and she’s a symbol of women’s rights and ability to do anything a man can do.

EPK: What do you do besides work with metal?

RN: Lots of stuff. I like to see live music, hang out with friends, play in the water, garden, knit, cook, travel, ride bicycles, take trips on motorcycles, be surprised by crazy adventures, you name it and I’ll do it!

EPK: What are three things that please you the most in the world?

RN: Nature pleases me immensely. It is so complex, amazing and beautiful. The best designs are not invented, they are borrowed from nature.

The diversity of people on the planet is an amazing thing. Everyone is different, from color to size, shape, beliefs, and habitat. If we were all the same, life would be boring. We pretty much all start from the same mold that makes up a human, and develop into billions of different beings.

For the last one, I’m going to have to be a sap here and say love. If you’ve ever been in love or felt the love of your family, you know what I mean and I need to say no more.

EPK: How can you be contacted and where can you be found online?

RN: I have a website: www.TwistedPerceptionMetalWorks.com for my personal work. I also work with the Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation installing large sculptures throughout Sonoma County. My email address is beckaboodle@hotmail.com, phone number 707-322-0101. My studio will be open for Art Trails 2009, Saturday and Sunday, October 10-11 and 17-18, 2009, 10am – 5pm.

Analogous reports:

1. Kindred Hackers Part 9: Team Sand Reckoner