Cutting large leaf forms

 

A sheet of Corten steel I ordered about 4 weeks ago was finally delivered on Tuesday - see below - the sheet is 2.4m long and 1.2m wide.

I was able to start the process of sketching the three large leaf forms in the concept drawing below onto the sheet of steel. 

The first of the leaf forms dropped out after quite a bit of work with the side grinder - see opening photo. 

Some process photos follow. Sketching the shapes on the steel.

Cutting with the side grinder. I used quite a few half used disks I had saved as they can be manoeuvred around corners better when cutting out leaf forms - but as the third photo shows I was left with lots of unusable bits.

The three leaf forms. The longest leaf form is 1.8m long and .4m wide.

The negative spaces in the steel.

The next tasks include: cutting the surplus off the sheet to allow the negative spaces to be a sculptural piece in its own right; grind all the rough edges off the leaf forms and leaf form negative spaces; and bend the leaf forms to create a 3D form.