Katie Louise Surridge. Broomhill National Sculpture Prize

No …i haven’t finished!… but I’m starting to think about the different finishes I could put on the steel frame. These images show where the welds have been cleaned, slight surface rusting that has occurred and also the mill scale that occurs on steel.

I was considering painting the frame, but the rust must be removed first. However painting can be messy and easily chipped or scratched.

I have decided that the piece will be shot blasted and then powder coated matt black. Shot blasting will totally remove all the rust by firing sand at it at a high velocity. The powder coat is then applied in a dry powder form and then the whole piece will be baked in an oven to cure. This creates an extremely hard and even surface ideal for outdoors.

The fabrication of the framework is well underway. We started by welding the 10 triangles that make up the sculpture, and then welded these together in to the shape of the final piece.

I needed to get the frame work finished so that the bespoke double glazing units can be fitted perfectly.