Creative Cutlery

Art & Sculpture Craft & Design
Creative Cutlery
This article is from Make Vol. 71! Subscribe now to make sure you donโ€™t miss out on any of our awesome builds.

Here’s another great project from the Make: archives.

According to Karina Olsen, the biggest mistake you can make in welding class is telling your instructor that youโ€™re finished early. โ€œOnce the instructor knows that you need more work, they will find random, ungraded projects for you to do until your classmates catch up with you!โ€

When Olsen learned this lesson, she didnโ€™t consider herself a sculptor yet; however that would change as she snuck in time for experimentation. She picked up some random bits of steel at a thrift shop, typically silverware, and simply tried various ideas. It was in this way that Olsenโ€™s first sculpture was created โ€œin secretโ€ while she was a student in a welding class.

Photo by Karina Olsen

This first success sparked her interest in creating metal sculptures, so she scoured Milwaukeeโ€™s thrift stores for utensils. Friends and family also began donating unwanted wares, allowing her to amass a library of material from which to draw inspiration.

Photo by Karina Olsen

Olsenโ€™s creations, typically animals or insects, are gorgeous feats of layered and flowing lines. The structures of the creatures themselves seem to have an intrinsic flow and she carefully uses the silverwareโ€™s flourishes and scrollwork to add visual intensity to the designs.

โ€œPeople donโ€™t always notice how beautiful their flatware is until itโ€™s transformed into something else,โ€ Olsen says, โ€œand Iโ€™m always happy to help them notice by drawing attention to it in my work.โ€

Photo by Karina Olsen

See more on Karina’s Instragram

This article appeared in Make: Vol. 71.

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I get ridiculously excited seeing people make things. I just want to revel in the creativity I see in makers. My favorite thing in the world is sharing a maker's story. Find me at CalebKraft.com.

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