Why a blog?

 Ok so you have seen the pictures of our work, so why do we need a blog, I hear you asking. Well why not! The bottom line is not everything goes according to plan and some days the creative juices are a mere trickle and its hard to get out and make something spectacular. The Corona Virus Pandemic has put us in the position of having more time to make pieces of art but when the mind is not willing to participate one has to get creative in other ways.  

So who is Tong and Chic Creations? I am the Tong part of Tong and Chic. I have been working with metal since high school but only in the past 10 years did I make the move into forging and artistic metal art. I do not refer to myself as a blacksmith as a true blacksmith would have done an apprenticeship and in modern Australia, the true blacksmiths are slowly disappearing. I am happy to be called a metal artist because I draw on several skills to create my pieces of art.

One of Ann's earlier lead light pieces.

My wife Ann is the Chic part of Tong and Chic. She has been dabbling in lead light for over 20 years and only recently turned her hand to fused and slumped glass. In fact it is only 18 months ago when she first started delving into the possibilities with fusing. Considering the short time she has been working with fusing, her eye for detail and creativity is impeccable. 

Our workshop/studio is located in the Adelaide Hills just outside the township of Birdwood. We love where we live and are active in the local gallery where you can see some of our work and other local artists work. Our days are not consumed with creating works of art, but shared amongst our other passions such as our animals and motorcycles. Sometimes they also serve as inspiration for our works.

Hopefully I/we will be updating things here semi regularly and displaying some of our current projects.

Stay tuned

Horses for courses

Some days it is hard to get motivated let alone get inspired. I guess one should finish other projects before starting another but that isnt the way my brain works. I am always thinking ahead and if need be applying some thoughts to the current job. Today I finished something different. Yes I know its another horse head sculpture but this time its made from sheet steel. This one tested not only my welding skills but also my patience. Being sheet steel, I needed to get the right settings on the welder otherwise I could burn through the joins. The other problem was getting the right angles and shapes on pieces of steel.

 Once I got the plates tacked together I then had to fully weld and then grind off the welds to give a clean finish. Convex shapes were quite easy but the concave shapes really tested  me.  I purchased an electric die grinder and some carbide burrs. Aside from the fact the die grinder spins at 33000 RPM, it developed an unbearable vibration within the first hour of use.  That was going back for a refund. The other problem I wasnt ready for was the miniscule pierces of metal embedding themselves in my shirt, hands, and pretty much everywhere.  I have used die grinders before but never had these issues.  Eventually the sculpture was cleaned up enough and sanded down to 120 grit and then scotchbrite pads. 

It was now time to think about  how I will finish it.  As I do finish my metal forging with wax, I decided to do the same method with this but the wax needs to be applied to the metal when its hot. Out with the gas torch and wax and the end product is what you see. The colour is not consistant and the finish of the metal has imperfections so you know this is a hand made sculpture. This was a big learning curve for me  and hopefully the next time I use sheet metal for a scuplture things will go together a bit easier.