john t. unger studio

Drawing with the heat of 4.5 suns in your hand

When most artists say they are "on fire" they mean that they're inspired. When metalworkers say it, you should reach for the nearest entinguisher.

I make jokes about "catching fire a little bit" while working in the studio, but the truth is— there's a lot of sparks flying around when you cut and grind steel and no amount of safety gear is going to protect you completely. Just like line cooks get used to hot grease spattering, you get used to the sparks. You also get really good at removing hot pans from the oven.

The carbon steel I cut firebowls from melts at 2600°F–2800°F. The handheld plasma torch I cut with is around 45,000 °F. That's 4.5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Think about that a minute— I'm holding a torch that is more than four times as hot as the sun!

Because I'm holding the torch in my hand, my hands take the brunt of the sparks. For the most part, as you can see in the photo above, the sparks are on the other side of whatever I'm cutting. But there's a also a backsplatter of molten steel that shoots directly at the back of my left hand as I steady the torch. These sparks used to catch my gloves on fire pretty routinely. Even when the metal cools enough in the air not to cause a fire, it's still pretty hot and you can get a bit of a suntan inside your glove.

The thing is— in order to cut really intricate and smooth lines, you want to minimize the amount of safety gear that weighs you down and causes friction, while simultaneous preventing injury. Imagine trying to draw delicate lines while wearing hockey or football protective gear. Same thing really. And although its nice not to constantly set your hand on fire, as the metal builds up on the heat shield, it tends to catch on the surface of the bowl as you move, making it much harder to draw smooth lines.

Here's a photo of a new glove, a glove with a new Aluminized Carbon Kevlar® Heat Resistant Backhand Pad, and a glove with a kevlar shield that has built up a thick coating of molten steel over the course of a couple months. Kevlar, as you may know already, is what bullet proof vest are made from.

Molten steel buildup from several months on the surface of a glove.

Note the holes where steel has burned right through the Kevlar.

A brand new pad after cuttin a single firebowl.

Fire Features at Wichita Waterwalk

Photo Credit: Chris Rush

 

This photo of the King Isosceles Firebowl at WaterWalk Place in Wichita is stunning! Chris did a great job of shooting a night photo that still gives a sense of the landscape around the firebowl.

WaterWalk Place is a multi-use destination on the banks of the Arkansas River in the heart of the city's cultural, entertainment, government and business center. Featuring upscale shops, luxury living and premium business sites. Seasonal activities within the development include outdoor concerts, art fairs, charity benefits and holiday celebrations. The Waterwalk Commons features fountains, greenbelts, walking paths and two of my Sculptural Firebowls.

The pictures by Vanessa below give a nice sense of how the King Isosceles fits into the larger landscape. It was very kind of Vanessa to forward her pictures and the one by Chris.

Photo Credit: Vanessa Johnson

 

Photo Credit: Vanessa Johnson

 

Waterwalk also has a Waves O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl installed, but I only have photos of the waves bowl taken during construction. If anyone in Wichita would be willing to send me updated photos of the Waves O' Fire, I'd be deeply grateful!

Photo Credit: Daniel Earnest

 

Photo Credit: Daniel Earnest

More S'mores at Frankford Hall

Christina Celenza and Tyler Roy enjoy toasting s'mores on a recent date at Frankford Hall in Philadelphia.

The photo shoot, organized by Nick Silva and shot by Pete Hall, turned out great! I love the star-like lights in the trees in the first photo and Christina and Roy are such a cute couple in their photos.

This is a perfect example of what I love most about the internet— I put out a call on Twitter and Facebook looking for photos of Frankford Hall and several people responded. What makes it even better is hearing back from all of them that they had so much fun doing the shoots. I think I'll have to try organizing similar outings at some of the other restaurants that have my firebowls on display.

Sculptural Firebowls sell 1000s of s'mores for Philadelphia's Frankford Hall

I don't usually post press releases to the blog, but this is such a good story I feel like it works.

Campfire cookouts come to the city as Philly beerhall puts the fun into functional art.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Meade

 

Surprise success of snack sales could point the way to a new restaurant trend— Handcrafted firebowls from John T. Unger Studio are sparking increased food and beverage sales for Frankford Hall, a Philadelphia, PA, biergarten with a modern twist. The popular draw of a Big Bowl O' Zen Sculptural Firebowl inspired the restaurant to order a second firebowl, subsidized by food sales.

"My firebowls are popular with hotels and restaurants for their beauty and ambience as well as their functional warmth, durability and maintenance-free upkeep" said John T. Unger, owner of John T. Unger Studio, Mancelona, Mich. "By adding toasted treats to the menu, the folks at Frankford Hall have discovered a way to generate direct income from my firebowls."

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Meade

 

Frankford Hall, a property embodying the spirit of an open-air German biergarten set in an industrial structure was a fitting location for Unger's work. "Our space called for a fire pit and our designer, Richard A. Stokes loved the rustic and natural look of the Big Bowl 'O Zen," said Greg Root, general manager of Frankford Hall, one of the Starr Restaurants.

Once the Big Bowl 'O Zen was installed Root came upon an added benefit. He began selling the ingredients for a classic dessert, S'Mores at "a buck a pop." The idea not only took off, but Frankford Hall began selling thousands of the s'mores. "We were seeing such tremendous draw for the s'mores, we decided to add a second firebowl," said Root. Restaurant patrons enjoy the firebowls' warmth and social atmosphere while also creating a fun treat. The tradition and nostalgia of cooking over an open flame has almost universal appeal.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Meade

 

"When homeowners purchase my firebowls, they begin a legacy to be be passed down to future generations. I love being able to foster family traditions and togetherness," said Unger. "Public installations in hotels or restaurants are also satisfying for me because thousands of people a year are able to see and enjoy my work. The ability of the artwork to generate additional revenues for hospitality venues is an exciting and attractive benefit."

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Meade

 

Twelve Tasy Recipes to Try on Your Firebowl

For the most part I've gone with simpler recipes in the list below and avoided fish and fowl for safety (you wouldn't want to undercook those). If you are a seafood fan, there are some promising recipes included in the list where I found most of these: 50 on a Stick: Recipes to grill your entire meal on skewers. If you find any recipes that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about it!

1. Tomato-Basil Skewers
2. Plum Tomatoes with Artichoke Pesto
3. Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos
4. Spicy Steak Fries
5. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
6. Salami-and-Fig Fans
7. Mini Blue Cheese Burgers
8. Bacon Wrapped Spicy Meatball Skewers
9. Russian Onion and Pork Kebabs with Russian Ketchup (Shashlik)
10. Grilled Kielbasa with Fennel and Pears
11. Beets with Horseradish Cream
12. Black Forest Skewers

About Frankford Hall: Frankford Hall embodies the spirit of an open-air German biergarten presented with a modern twist. Set in an industrial structure, the space creates a unique urban experience for those looking to enjoy a cold brew and brats of all kinds. With nine beers on tap, ten more in bottles and giant, warm pretzels, the true essence of Bavaria is represented at its best in this Fishtown fun spot. www.starr-restaurant.com

History of S'Mores: Per the Girl Scout Alumnae website, the S'more lacks a confirmed history. However, they relate that the first record of a s'more dates back to a 1927 recipe printed in a Girl Scout manual called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.

Best tweets of 2010

Twitter is where I spend most of my time online. Other than email, it's the closest thing I have to any kind of journal of my ideas and activities. At the end of the year, I go back and re-read my entire Twitter stream for the year as a review. I use BackUpMyNet to archive all my tweets, which makes the process much easier. I find the review to be a really useful tool in taking stock of what has been done over the course of the year and planning the direction of the new year.

What I love best about Twitter is the constraint of trying to fit something worth saying into 140 characters… It reminds me of the precision and concision required when I wrote as a poet. I've experimented more this last year with "long form Twitter," using it as an outline for bigger thoughts in series, like building a geometric proof.

Twitter's largely my notebook for ideas. I get them down, see some feedback and save them for later development when I have the time to actually write or work the ideas into new projects. The brevity constraint forces me to take complex ideas down to the bare bones. Even if sometimes I have to build a partial or full skeleton to get the whole idea across. Twitter has changed the way I use language and the way I think… there's a constant editing loop now in my head that says "how can I make this simpler and shorter without leaving it open to misinterpretation."

Below are the "Best of" tweets from 2010. The ones which either made me laugh, made me think or just struck me as interesting on some level. Hope you enjoy them. I organized them chronologically (oldest to newest) since some were written as a series.

New firebowl designs coming soon

I'm working behind the scenes right now on a redesign for the whole site that I hope to have live soon. The design and coding is by Men with Pens, and it's easily one of the best designs I've ever seen. I'm excited because the new design brings all the most important information above the fold and makes it easier to navigate the site… but it's also just beautiful. While working out the last details on the design, I'm also editing video for all the firebowls, pulling together new photos and copy and updating prices.

I've been holding off adding new work until the site is ready to relaunch, but here's a sneak preview of four new firebowl designs that will be available soon.

The Fireball

Weighing in at almost 300 pounds, the Fireball is a dramatic piece, even in its simplicity. The design is one that I've thought about for years, but when I finally put one together I was shocked at how gorgeous it is.

The Firefly

The Firefly utilizes the negative space of the King Isosceles to shield the fire from the wind and to create an inviting space to gaze in at the fire. Photos don't quite do justice to the way the view of the fire shifts as you move around the bowl.

The Meridian

The Meridian is inspired in part by the hanging modern fireplaces of the Sixties… I love the way that the crescent form of this bowl changes from different angles, just as the cycles of the moon shift. The canted bowl protects the fire from wind and radiates heat to warm your upper body.

The Big Bowl O' Canada

I've been shipping more and more bowls to Canada this year and to celebrate our neighbors to the north I've created the Big Bowl O' Canada. I had a request for a custom Great Bowl O' Fire that incorporated a stylized maple leaf as one of the flame designs and the idea of doing an all maple leaf design appealed to me.

BottleCap Fish Mosaic No. 50

Click the image to enlarge.

This was a commissioned piece and is one of my favorites I've ever done. The breast fin is an antique spatula I've been saving for at least five years just for this purpose. The other fins are cut from a tin shovel for fireplaces (the corrugated edges were perfect for the dorsal fin). The tail is a flattened rake. Caps are Bell's Oberon and Heineken.

I've been wanting to use the Oberon caps for a long time… they're a gorgeous color and I like the yellow sun design. Be sure to look at them close up by clicking "all sizes" and selecting the original size. One of the things that's coolest about making these is the always unexpected way that the caps look once they've been set close. It's always so much more vibrant than the way they look scattered.

Fountain with Great Bowl O' Fire firebowl

This stone and glass fountain in San Clemente, CA shows that you can have it all… a stunning water feature crowned by live fire. Day or night, fire brings a lively focus to this water feature, combining two of the most primal elements. Even I was amazed when I saw the photos of the finished project. When David first showed me the drawings for his project I was excited and pleased to help make this dream a reality. I can't wait to do more projects like this one!

Help 2 Succeed Blogtalkradio Interview

First, they say "you'll never make a living as an artist." When you do, they say you've "sold out."

Sharon Beth interviews me about tips for artists to succeed, how to price art and calculate overhead, how to handle rejection or people who tell you you won't succeed, how to find your market and other ideas.

Best Tweets of 2009

I spent New Year's day going back and re-reading all the tweets I wrote in 2009, from top to bottom. It was kind of an interesting way to review the year and see where I'd been and what I'd been thinking about. There were so many big events this year that a lot of the comparatively smaller events and ideas had been completely lost in the shuffle (or would have been, if not for Twitter). I use BackUpMyNet to archive all my tweets, which made the whole process much easier. I can view everything on one page there, rather than constantly having to hit the "more" button on Twitter. I'll definitely make this an annual review, I think… I can't think of any other medium (email, journals, letters, etc.) that could realistically be reviewed at end of year. Looking at the whole year through Twitter definitely gave me some strong ideas about what I do and don't want to focus on in 2010.

Below are the "Best of" tweets from 2009. The ones which either made me laugh, made me think or just struck me as interesting on some level. Hope you enjoy them. I organized them chronologically (oldest to newest) since some required two or three parts.