Crafters Anonymous: Ogden man welds metal art for therapy
Brad Corless welds a metal cattail onto a duck hunting sculpture in his Ogden garage on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016. Corless worked as a commercial welder until he was injured on the job in 2006. After the injury, he began creating metal art projects and hunting knives as part of his therapy.
Brad Corless shows a kitchen knife that he made at his Ogden home on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016. Corless usually makes hunting knives but made a kitchen knife as a personal project.
Brad Corless checks the position of a metal cattail that he attached to a duck hunting sculpture in his Ogden garage on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.
Brad Corless began making hunting knives after leaving his job as a commercial welder. The blade on the left was created from an old metal file.
OGDEN — At first glance, the cowboy hat and rifle in the planter look real.
But a closer inspection reveals they are created out of metal.
Brad Corless, 53, of Ogden, began welding metal into art in 2006 after he was injured on the job.
“I couldn’t go back to work, so this is therapy for me,” said Corless, who worked as welder for 22 1/2 years.
He began by making horseshoe flowers for gardens, but soon decided he wanted to see what else he could create.
“I don’t throw any of my metal away,” Corless said. “I can always use the little pieces in something.”
When he goes for walks, he’ll see a piece of metal on the street that someone has thrown out and he’ll take it home. He has also used items he has bought at secondhand stores to create a sculpture, like an old bread pan.
He currently is working on a piece that includes cattails, a drake and duck, along with a shotgun propped up by the cattails.
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Brad Corless welds a metal cattail onto a duck hunting sculpture in his Ogden garage on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016. Corless worked as a commercial welder until he was injured on the job in 2006. After the injury, he began creating metal art projects and hunting knives as part of his therapy.
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Brad Corless shows a kitchen knife that he made at his Ogden home on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016. Corless usually makes hunting knives but made a kitchen knife as a personal project.
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Brad Corless checks the position of a metal cattail that he attached to a duck hunting sculpture in his Ogden garage on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.
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Brad Corless began making hunting knives after leaving his job as a commercial welder. The blade on the left was created from an old metal file.
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A duck in flight tops one of Brad Corless’s sculptures of a wetland scene. Corless began working on the sculpture in September of 2015 and is putting the last pieces together a year later.
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A metal cactus sits at the base of one of Brad Corless’ sculptures. Most of Corless’ work is inspired by western and hunting scenes.
Corless began working on it a year ago, when he saw in his mind a planter with a cross in it, along with a cowboy hat, spurs, cactus, a rock and a rifle. He then sketched out the design and started welding metal.
One day he would work on the cattail sculpture, and another day he worked on the planter sculpture.
He doesn’t use a computer to draw ups his plans. He sketches them by hand and then works on each piece for a couple of hours a day or until the pain in his body won’t let him weld anymore.
‘I like to bring nature to life,” Corless said.
He doesn’t use chemicals to get the coloring he wants on the metal. Corless uses the heat from the welding torch to get the blues, greens, purples and gold to appear in the metal. To get a rusted look, like on the shotgun’s stock, he uses a solution of salt water.
He mostly makes sculptures as gifts for friends and family.
Corless also likes making hunting knives from old metal files, as well as with Damascus steel.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
A duck in flight tops one of Brad Corless’s sculptures of a wetland scene. Corless began working on the sculpture in September of 2015 and is putting the last pieces together a year later.
Welding the pieces together is just part of the work, Corless said. He also forges, or heats up the steel or metal pieces, and then shapes them using a hammer and anvil.
His anvil is a Peter Wright anvil dating to the 1800s, Corless said. “It’s really cool. It was used in the old blacksmithing shop on Second Street (in Ogden),” Corless said.
Because of his injuries, Corless said he uses only small hammers to pound on the steel.
Some of his projects have taken him just a week or two to create — for example, a trophy he made for a biker’s group he belongs to, welding vintage Harley-Davidson parts together.
But the drake that is in the motion of flight on his sculpture in progress took him longer to complete. The drake has 25 pieces of metal welded together to achieve the look Corless was after. The shotgun has 15 pieces of metal. The duck, which will sit in a nest at the bottom of the cattails, needs more work on her beak and more details on the body before he’s satisfied.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
A metal cactus sits at the base of one of Brad Corless’ sculptures. Most of Corless’ work is inspired by western and hunting scenes.
“I want it to look like an old duck hunter left his shotgun in a water trough, and then cattails grew around it,” Corless explained.
Corless, who grew up in North Ogden, said he used to spend a lot of time in the mountains.
“This time of year, you wouldn’t find me home,” he said. “But after I got busted up, I don’t go up as much. I do do some hiking, but all on the easy trails so I can see what I can see.”
Corless has received requests from others about creating pieces for them. He said he has thought about selling his pieces; those interested can contact him at mountainchild.63@gmail.com.
You can reach reporter Loretta Park lpark@standard.net or at 801-625-4252. Follow her on Twitter@LorettaPark SE or like her on Facebook.