Sculpting can be a powerful form of expression, and for 29-year-old Salt Spring Island resident Kate Ford, impact is exactly what she had in mind.
With a combination of welding, fabrication, and blacksmithing/forging, Ford has used her art to draw attention to human environmental impacts and how marine species have been forced to adapt.
After hours of dedicated and challenging work, and inspired by her upbringing in Nanaimo as well as her current residency on Salt Spring Island, Crude Accommodations surfaced.
Depicted in incredible detail, viewers are invited to observe a magnificent hermit crab who has created a home in a barnacle-riddled oil drum.
Ford’s artist statement reads, “Crude Accommodations depicts a hermit crab making its home in a discarded oil drum—a statement on the fragility and resilience of nature in the face of human impacts.”
Victoria Buzz interviewed Ford, who was still buzzing after winning two awards in the 13th annual Castlegar Sculpturewalk contest—which was installed earlier this year in Castlegar, BC and will remain until late spring.
She won both first place in Artistic Merit, and second place in People’s Choice.
“I wanted to make a conceptual piece, and I had seen these images online of real hermit crabs using bottle caps and cans as shells, so that was the leading inspiration,” Ford said.
“I decided to use an oil drum, so it would be a big and intimidating sculpture that would really impact the viewer as well as bring in the message of the overuse of fossil fuels…it reminds us how big of a problem pollution is.”
As she worked through the brainstorming process as well as its initial beginning stages, the structure itself changed a little bit to accommodate her developing ideas and what she wanted to prioritize.
“I wanted to keep the hermit crab to remain as anatomically correct as possible and I wanted the elements of the sculpture to look balanced,” she said.
“So, I shortened the oil drum and beat it with a hammer. I also wanted it to look like it’d been in the ocean for a really long time. The shorter oil drum balanced the piece and made it look like the hermit crab didn’t quite fit, which is also kind of the point. The crab made it work, but that doesn’t make [the pollution] okay.”
Different techniques were applied to achieve the texture she wanted and the realistic appearance of both the crab and the drum.
The exoskeleton of the crab, for example, was forged and flipped so she could hammer the inside with a sharp-pointed hammer. As a result, we see the series of sharp bumps and rigid shell-like texture of the crab.
“It’s a big piece, this was my largest solo project. I’m a small woman, so I wrestled with it a lot,” she laughed.
“But at the end, having done it alone it feels like more of an accomplishment. Staying strong and remaining confident that I would come through was an awesome feeling in the end.”
She added that although she’s feeling great about the growth in her skills and abilities, having a supportive partner and family really allowed her to push her boundaries and complete something outside of her comfort zone.
Because of her placement for People’s Choice, it became available for lease or purchase! She said she can’t get into details yet, but it’s in the process of being purchased and will return to the coast.
“I was so excited to have so much interest right away!” she gushed.
Working in both industry and art as a ticketed welder, an experienced bronze castor and blacksmith, her undeniable skill and passion for her work is seen in everything she does.
Her art pieces are generally inspired by marine life and depict the beauty of the creatures we see and interact with on the coast.
“Moving forward…my more recent pieces have been depicting a stronger [environmental] message and I plan carrying that message through into future pieces,” she said.
“It took me several years to get to this point, but I made it!”
Her next aim is to have something displayed in another public exhibition, perhaps the Oak Bay Arts Alive Public Art Program, which is calling for artist submissions right now.
Additionally, she offers commissioned pieces for anyone interested in purchasing a custom design—you can view her services on her website.
