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Fishiron.com
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The Story A Continuing Story this being chapter one of many. I began Fishiron a couple of years ago on a slow winter day here in Texas, meaning that it was below 70 degrees. I had an agreement to make steel rings for oil field pipe wipers. Only thing is I was the only one who really agreed and wound up with a ring making machine I had fabricated for the job and a bunch of steel rod. I had to use the rod for something, so as a joke I bent it into a big steel fish. It was pretty crude but eye catching. After several positive remarks from friends I continued in my spare time. This has been like discovering you could swim though you had never tried it. I honestly did not know that I could sculpt. It has been a great experiment so far and I discover new forms and methods as I go. I really enjoy taking on projects so please ask. One piece of the art work on my home page (that I've since moved to Archives) was donated to the Omega House in Houston, Texas. They took care of my brother in his last days and I wanted to do something. Having a terminally ill relative makes you feel so helpless. My brother Danny was a florist for a long time so I asked him would he like me to build a flower outside his window. All he had to look at was a wooden fence. He liked that idea and said he wanted a bird of paradise. I had never even seen one. I finally found a photo on the internet and used it as a model. The photo or sculpture is called Dan's Window and was taken through his screen from his bed. I am an oil field refugee and managed to have enough money left over from near bankruptcy to start a small tire shop. I mean small too. I bought 50 used tires and an air compressor and a car jack and poof, I was in business. At the same time I worked pretty hard as a musician, another near starving experience. And in the midst of it all was lucky enough to meet my wife, Sandi. She's a marvelous partner and takes care of a lot of things that I would hate. I am a builder and she is a caretaker, a pretty good match. Hopefully this site and my art and craft will enable us to get the heck out of the big city some day. With the internet it really makes no difference where you live. dc 12/16/02 Look through the site and please let me know what you like or don't like. Both opinions are very important to me. Some criticism I received recently was about the quality of the photographs. I will work on that. It has also been suggested that I take some of the art to some shows. We shall see. dc 9/16/03 Sorry about the delay in writing. Have been pretty busy and am continuing to figure out new designs and forms. Have spent quite a bit of time working on Horseshoe Art. Be sure and check out some of the figures. Most are original designs but I did borrow a couple I saw on the net. Am working more and more on wholesaling. Will let you know. dc 12/10/03 Wholesaling has been a kick in the pants. Man what a learning curve. Still, I did it with my little horseshoe figurines. Now I'm putting on a first small time distributor who wants to give it a go. Hopefully in the next few months I will be able to install a shopping cart system to make ordering easier and faster for the impulsive types. (Like myself) I kept building and designing new models of horseshoe art too. I now have 17 models to choose from. I'm also keeping on with my fish art by talking to customers far and wide with ideas and sketches. Ain't the internet great! I am building a big sailfish that you can see on my Works in Progress page that will be really neat. Also I hope to build a cool handrail for some folks in Michigan. I will add it to the Works in Progress as I go. A fish jumping after a dragon fly amidst vines and grass with water and sun represented in steel. In between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the year has passed so fast. Thanks Trina, Debbie, Lisa, Jean, and everyone else who found us on the net. More fun stuff coming. 10/6/04 Have increased items and developed an Ebay store. I have added a few horseshoe pieces and some fish. I also opened an online bookstore. I've always loved books and this gives me an excuse to mess with them even more. I particularly like how-to and craft type books. In the never ending struggle of trying to make a living off my labors through the internet I have expanded even into selling cast iron pieces. You can check out some of it on the above link. Till later, dc please visit Chapter Two
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