This Wrought Iron entrance gate was one of five functional art commissions created for the Marshall residence in Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
We were approached by the client who wanted something "different" as a feature for the 2 sandstone pillar entrances of this 100 acre property.
Upon arrival we proceeded thru two exceptionally built sandstone entrance pillars, and continued down a long bitumen driveway towards an enormous house site.
Along the way we saw some amazing work being done by some highly skilled contractors and tradesmen and realised, their was a common theme at work here, not to mention a vast amount of funds being invested.
My first impression was a "rustic yesteryear theme", as there was an old re-furbished windmill and a 19th century wooden horse drawn wagon used as a focal point, to a large garden bed planted with arid land flora and natives, and the property was fully fenced with heavy duty hardwood timber done in the style of a Texas ranch.
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Looking around the property we found stables under construction, including large aviaries and many more feature gardens, one in particular featured a weather beaten antique pick-up truck as a point of interest, surrounded by strategically planted natives and succulents.
All of this work orchestrated by a skilled landscape architect.
The more we looked around the property, the more we got an idea of where the Wrought Iron entrance gate designs were heading in relation to what had already been created.
Before we left we took some still shots around the property and the entrances to which the Wrought Iron gates would be positioned.
The client farewelled us with the statement," i will leave the designs up to you."
Once we left the property and took a short detour around the area to look at the scenery and get a more lateral view the "light bulb" moment occured !!
In the middle of an adjacent property was a huge Moreton Bay Fig tree standing proudly like a work of art , i pulled over to look at it in all its glory, and the vision of its silhouette framed in Wrought Iron came to me.
That same evening i sat down uploaded my still shots of the property and began to put pencil to paper and sketch my vision as it would be re-created in "Wrought Iron".
I decided that a fully forged Wrought Iron "Moreton Bay Fig" was to be the centrepiece, standing in front of rustic timber fence posts and rails made from Wrought Iron.
All this was accompanied by forged iron blade grass and over 229 Wrought Iron handcrafted leaves.
Once i had finished and forwarded the sketch, the client was more than impressed and very much looked forward to it.
I started with a thick wall RHS tube as my overall "picture frame" that spanned the distance of the entrance opening and framed the piece.
Once my overall dimensions were right, i proceeded to start from the bottom and work my way up,,, from forged 20mm solid iron bars forged and formed into a root system and ultimately forming into a tree.
All the limbs and branches had to be meticulously forged and textured for detail, by hand, hammer and mandrel, anvil and power hammer,, including the solid square iron bar rustic fence posts and railings.
In some instances i was forced to swap from "Coal Forge" to Gas Forge due to the shape of each piece, and the heat requirement necessary to achieve a given outcome.
It surely was one hell of a commission and something surreal to watch it all come together bit by bit, and piece by piece.
The client was so impressed with the Wrought Iron Fig tree entrance gates fitted to the property , that we were forced to postpone other work for clients for over 3 months, due to the fact that this client just kept ordering more and more pieces made by a true Artisan/Blacksmith of Artemis Wrought Iron.
It never ceases to amaze us here at Artemis Wrought Iron how these 2 particular works - "The Freedom Fig" and "Freedom Reprise" are always a talking point with new people who view them on our website.
These particular Wrought Iron gates were a hard slog, but lots of fun to forge,, and are among the most visually and aesthetically stunning Wrought Iron commissions produced by Artemis Wrought Iron.