Torn
Additional Photos &
Construction Notes

Torn is hanging grid pattern of 68 steel nodes individually strung with 1/8" stainless steel cable. Each node is cut from 20 gauge sheet steel using my plasma torch. No two are alike and all follow a strict rule for folding and welding. The individual nodes were then primed and painted a deep reddish color in the iron oxide range using a really tough acrylic base. I stunk up my studio for days painting this thing.

Here is the piece hanging in my studio right after it was completed.

This is the paper model that determined the geometry of the different configurations of the nodes. The idea was to indicate the windows and doors of my standard house shape by making those surfaces clear of the spiky tendrils.

The cabling process was very involved. It took eight nodes to define the "cube" structure underlying my house form. So each side of the cube had to be precisely 16". To achieve this, I had to create a pretty elaborate wooden jig to hold everything in place.