Titan “born of Gaia”

This was definitely my biggest challenge yet. I wanted this sculpture to be distinctly different from my previous creations, yet have the overall sense of the melting effect that my other Iron Clocks also possess.
The concept of movement and fluidity have been an important feature in all my work.

I had the idea of an ‘Adam and Eve’ creation before embarking on this work. My aim was to make one side of the sculpture more rigid and angular and make the other side a softer panel, with vertical creases following through to add to the illusion. I have also included a hole in this Iron Clock so that you can see right through it……into a different era, perhaps ?

The softer, oval panel represents ‘Eve’ on one side of the clock, symbolising fertility. This ‘weighted look’ is emphasised by the folds pulling down towards the earth. I have also moulded a long, flowing shape that drops down from the top of the clock that suggests a serpent.

‘Adam’s’ side, however, includes more contemporary influences, like the suggestion of a gun and a coca cola bottle shape around the face. This reflects my broader theme of ‘West of Eden’.

I have created indistinct shapes on both panels that are open to interpretation and added the impression of cracks in the iron representing, further, the fragility of life. I am pleased with the end result.

My head has been full of ideas while I’ve been creating this sculpture, and like the other Iron Clocks in the series, it has taken on a life of its own as each stage has evolved. This is what makes it exciting, and I think it is my most interesting work to date.

-Mark Avis

The third in this series of clocks, it was to be my tallest and heaviest by far …and it had to be ready in time to be shown at an important exhibition. I’m glad to say that I finished it just in time.

To create its huge form, I made some rough calculations on paper, scaling up the dimensions of the previous two Iron Clocks. But then I put the figures to one side, because I work much better by intuition.

My main point of reference is the human form – you’ll see that the proportions of all my Iron Clocks fit the proportions of people. For example, my clocks flex at the “neck” and tilt at “waist” height.

I decided to take several creative chances with this big clock. My original inspiration for the series was – believe it or not – the creases in our bedroom curtains. At some point in the middle of one night, I studied how the material folds and overlaps, and I knew that I wanted to add this effect to my iron creations.

For the first time, I added this creased effect to the base of this Iron Clock…and I also decided to make one side of the “head” very distorted, leaving the other almost untouched.

I am very pleased with the final outcome. This is perhaps my favourite clock in the series and, when finished, I added my name to the face and back of the clock with great pride.

- Mark Avis

When I told my wife about my Iron Clock dream, she thought that I had a mantle clock in mind! Instead, as you can see from this lovely Iron Clock, I created a timepiece on a far larger scale.

I woke up one night staring hard at the curtains in our bedroom, focussing on the way the material folds and overlaps. My thoughts were all muddled up at the time – something about working with hot iron, and how everything deteriorates as part of the natural cycle of life.

The next morning, I started work early and allowed all of these feelings and ideas to pour into my work. Many months later, I completed my first Iron Clock.

Working on this, my fourth clock in the Iron Clock series, it struck me how visitors to my workshop all have their own associations. I suppose this is partly because Iron Clocks are a completely new concept, never seen before. And also because people like to experience my work – looking, touching and talking about each piece.

For me, my Iron Clocks have a human form. Their proportions fit the proportions of people, flexing at the “neck” and tilting at “waist” height, for example. Each Iron Clock is special and different from the others, and no two faces are the same. This means that the complex leaded glass door must be hand crafted to pick out the unique shape of each face.

When it was time to say goodbye to this completed Iron Clock, I added my name with pride to the back and to its face. And I took great pleasure in hand polishing the entire piece one last time.

- Mark Avis

I always smile when I think back to the making of this Iron Clock.

It was only the second clock in this series, so all the challenges of creating my first Iron Clock were fresh in my mind. I had sketched out some ideas of how to realise this new creation – and I hoped that these notes would save me repeating previous mistakes.

Mid-summer heat drove me outside to work. It can get impossibly hot inside my workshop, especially when I’m shaping metal. Without thinking, I placed my sketches close by so that I could glance at them from time to time.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before welding sparks flew onto the pages, and the whole lot went up in flames. I moved fast, stamping on the papers in an attempt to save what I could. They ended up completely charred!

Luckily, I don’t rely very heavily on my sketches. In fact, I can’t draw properly to save my life. Somehow, working in three dimensions comes naturally to me. Each piece really does take shape in my hands.

Finally, I completed this, my second Iron Clock. I get tremendous pleasure from adding my name to the face and the back of the clock, and finally hand polishing my completed work before I eventually say goodbye.

- Mark Avis