Ian Gillies: Merging Metal and Fire into Art

Ian Gillies's metal sculpture art tells Newfoundland's story through reclaimed steel from the fishing industry.

Ian Gillies’s vision for creating breathtaking art sculptures from metal and fire captures his chosen medium's raw beauty and strength. 

His designs are inspired by his love of Newfoundland’s fishing industry, but he didn't start with metal. His journey to becoming an artist began using a variety of mediums.

“I have always been an artist in one medium or another, sketching, photography, turning wood, carving and so on. So, when my son and I started shaping metal with our backyard fire, it sparked an interest in blacksmithing. We took courses together at different blacksmith schools with my brother.”

Eventually, Gillies’s natural progression was to start creating artwork with steel. He said he doesn’t have a process, but he works mainly with reclaimed steel from the fishing industry. 

“I need to see the steel and decide what to do with it. Sometimes, the work is dictated by how much of the steel I have or how thick it is. With that steel, I usually made fish sculptures representing the fishing industry and the people of Newfoundland. But other times, I want to do things like Newfoundland Pitcher Plants.”

In that case, he said he would buy new steel, unfold the flower in his mind, and cut out the steel to look like the unfolded flower. Then, he would combine that with other reclaimed steel.

Gillies prefers to use rusted metal because it has character and tells its story. 

“I like the challenge of making something new and meaningful out of something discarded for many years. Especially in the case of old steel from the fishing industry or the hull of an old fishing ship, which has always been a big part of Newfoundland’s history and current way of life.”

When working with metal, some challenges mainly result from simple trial and error.

“A major challenge of working with the rusty metal I like is that if you heat and hammer it too much, you lose the rust and the look, and to weld steel; it needs to be clean. So often, I can only heat or clean the smallest portion, so I do not change the look I want.”

Gillies said another challenge is getting the odd burn from time to time. He said he has given up trying to avoid it and keeps a bucket of water handy for soothing. 

Gillies's work is displayed in front of Mallard Cottage in St. John's; the most noticeable is the giant fish sculpture on the Wharf at Quidi Vidi. 

He said he appreciates how people react to his art but often dissociates himself from it when the artwork is complete. That's not to say he doesn't appreciate what people like about his art and what it means to him. He believes the public's reaction and an artist's vision are always different. However, one of his pieces on display at the Artisan Loft on Water Street is the most memorable. 

“Not only is it completely reclaimed steel, and most of it is from the fishing industry, but the shape represents recycling and the circle of life in everything. It is also in the form of a rusty fish skeleton. Both represent the deterioration of the fishing industry in Newfoundland, and the enduring steel represents the people of our province and the fishing industry.”

Gillies said the best advice for anyone who wants to work in metal sculpture is to enjoy physical work, not mind getting burned on occasion, and, most importantly, design pieces that inspire them.