An important conceptual and aesthetic tangent I have been developing over the past few years has involved the plastic deformation of igneous rocks using techniques analogous to metal forging. Of course stones are much different than metals, but both are crystalline solids that undergo fundamental changes when heated to incandescent temperature ranges. I conceive of metal forging much like metamorphic rock formation, and the experimental work with rocks to date has been analogous to actual metamorphic rock formation in many ways. Of course natural metamorphic rock forming processes occur under great pressures and over long periods of time; the analogy is a bit of a stretch. But in fact my research has revealed some very interesting properties, including the ability to “forge” certain materials quite extensively, to punch and drift like accomplished in metals, and to weld dissimilar materials together. Included in this process area is work with the iron that is forged in conjunction with the rocks, and relates to it not only physically but conceptually.
Only a few examples have been adequately photographed at this point, but more will be loaded to the site later this year.