Welcome to Dogwood Alley

My artist friend and neighbor Beverly Crow commissioned me to sculpt an arch over her new garden gate. She created a design inspired by Dogwood branches.

Bev and I chalked a scaled up layout on the concrete floor of my shop.

I used a cutting wheel on my angle grinder to cut several segments of rebar and we began to experiment with the shape of two branches arching together.

Using a Dogwood leaf photo as reference, I sketched leaf shapes on 16 gage cold rolled steel.

 

 

I cut the leaves out with a Cobra oxy/acetylene cutting torch 

To test the design concept. we prepared a small maquette blossom from scrap brass. 

 

Using a Dogwood blossom photo as a pattern. I cut flower petals out from copper
sheeting. 

Bev and I experimented with the design by moving the components around on the shop floor. 

I connected the rebar branch segments and steel leaves using an arc welder. 

I assembled the copper blossoms with JB epoxy glue. 

I welded short pieces of steel rod into stamen/pestle elements and attached them on the copper blossoms with epoxy. 

I fabricated assembly units at the base of each branch for insertion into the upright posts of Bev’s garden gate. 

Bev designed a device to couple the two branch units and I fabricated it in steel sheet and rod. 

We assembled the Dogwood branches and Bev used copper tubing to fashion a vine coiling around the branches. I made leaves for the vine and attached them to the assembled arch. 

Voila!

Hats off to collaboration