How it all started and where it is going now.

Despite uncertain beginnings, dwcmetals has shifted from an experiment in metalworking into a reality of professional sculpting. In the early days I had no workspace, just a cramped corner of a one car garage. My first welder was a little red Craftsman 110 volt Mig. It didn’t have the ability to run gas shielding and lacked the amperage to join thicker metals but it was free (since I borrowed it from my father), besides I couldn’t afford anything else. Now for those of you who don’t know this, metal working is an expensive venture indeed. You have to purchase or build all kinds of little tools and toys to turn metal into magic. Now for me this was a bit of an obstacle, I personally had around $150.00 in my bank account at this time and there was no way I could obtain even a fraction of what was required to start manufacturing. I could have taken out a bank loan to secure my wants and needs, but I had three kids and a wife, there was no way I was going to take a financial risk on something as fickle as art. Don’t get me wrong, I was serious about giving this thing a go, but safety first right? So I made the decision that the only way to move forward was to make my new venture pay for itself. So six months after I first started tinkering with the idea of metal sculpting, I had produced an alligator, two sailing ships, a voodoo mask (turned out awful, one of the only things I made that never sold), and a couple of dragons. All of this was made from metal scraps that I scrounged from various places. I still had zero income to purchase better materials and no tools to manipulate the steel even if I did manage to get some. 

I remember how I had this habit of toting my creations into my office job and placing them on my desk so my coworkers could critique them. This was a way for me to build confidence as everyone would talk about how talented I was and how wonderful the work looked. I would like to point out that even though you have to start somewhere, friends and family are not good outlets to get true feedback from. The perception you will get from them is that you are already a master at your craft and you need to simply kick back in your chair and count the money as it pours on you from the sky. This is of course ridiculous, as you will find out when you have your first showing at a gallery.

Eventually I saved up enough money to really start the business properly. I invested in new tools and had a new shop built. I also made the decision to quit my career and pursue sculpting full time. So began dwcmetals. In the early days I thought that art shows would be my best shot. I began applying to shows, getting rejected quite a bit, but making the cut for a few. It was pretty scary to be honest. I had no clue what I was doing and no idea if I would be successful. But over the course of a few years I managed to figure it out and the money started to roll in a little.