09 Jan
This is not the first steampunk airship aircraft carrier I’ve done, but it’s every bit as fun and tough! As with all of my airship and hot air balloon pieces, the construction uses a combination of papier-mâché and re-purposed/found materials. I often challenge people to identify the former purpose of the different elements they can see on the sculpture. They are often surprised at how many of the objects are things they throw in the trash every day. You can make some amazing art with found objects…try to see how many things you can spot!
Lean and mean
Gondola close up
The fleet at the ready!
Take off!
The aircraft carrier is a lot of fun, partially because it follows Victorian steampunk “form” and is quite anachronistic. It certainly is fun to imagine the action of a craft like this if it were to materialize in our reality! Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Stephan J. Smith is the artist and sculptor at Artsmith Craftworks in Swartz Creek, MI. Using recycled and re-purposed materials, Stephan builds a myriad of sculpted wonders, including fantastic and whimsical steampunk airships that have amazed and delighted fans for years. A passion for reusing and up-cycling found items into beautiful and amazing art is what drives Stephan to make art that both teaches and inspires. Stephan also does commissioned work and is available to do talks and classes on re-purposing/up-cycling and may be reached at ArtSmithCraft@yahoo.com or by phone at 810-516-7381.