‘Artist Spotlight’ Of The Week: Mac McCarthy
Howdy Nation! In today’s post, we are going to be featuring our ‘Artist Spotlight’ of the week: Mac McCarthy. While he is not repairing wheels and rims, Mac is best known for using his welding skills to create some awesome art sculptures. In this interview, we will be learning all about Mac’s process and inspiration when creating his latest piece, named Billy!
Tell us a little bit about the sculpture we are showcasing today.
“This here is Billy, the octopus railing! I completely welded it myself and it took me 7 weeks to put together this sprawling steel staircase.”
What draws you in or fascinates you the most about octopuses?
“To me, they’re one of the smartest creatures on Earth. What’s not to love about them?”
OctoNation members love knowing how long your work takes you to complete… Can you describe the process?
“To create this stunning sculpture, I used 1/4″ steel rods and more than 3 miles of welding.”
🐙 Octopus Fun Fact
For those who are curious…Welding is the process of combining or welding two or more materials together. After metal reaches a certain temperature, it’s placed on another piece of metal to create a weld pool or molten material.
When the weld pool solidifies, it becomes one piece!
When do you feel the most creative?
“I feel the most creative while I am actively sculpting. I created it from complete scratch in my mind. Rather than being restricted to a traditional area, the octopus railing, named Billy, was designed to work with the entire space.”
What’s the best website for people to discover your work?
It’s best to contact me on my facebook page, Welded Sculptures by Mac.
For something no one else has, call me! I enjoy the creativity.”
🐙 Octopus Fun Fact
“I have been designing one-of-a-kind metal sculptures, railings, bespoke furniture, and mailboxes since 1993. My work has been exhibited at the Salvador Dali Museum and Holocaust Museum!”
Thank You For Joining Us For Artist Spotlight!
First, we want to give a big thank you to Mac McCarthy for allowing us to showcase this beautiful octopus railing on OctoNation. To continue supporting Mac and his art, make sure to follow him on Facebook.
If you want to educate yourself some more about all sorts of different cephalopods, take a look at our encyclopedia. Or, what we call it, our Octopedia!
Connect with other octopus lovers via the OctoNation Facebook group, OctopusFanClub.com! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the conservation, education, and ongoing research of cephalopods.
More Posts To Read:
- ‘Artist Spotlight’ Of The Week: Alan Williams
- Octopus Sweater: The Perfect Hand-Stitched Addition
- 9 Giant Pacific Octopus Facts That Will Blow Your Mind
- Tiny Hairy Octopus: The Cutest Species You’ve NEVER Heard Of!
- Maori Octopus Facts: One Of New Zealand’s Largest Species!
Vee is the blog manager here at OctoNation. Her love and knowledge for all things cephalopods has grown immensely since joining the OctoNation team- and continues to grow daily!
Vee uses her skills of writing, editing, and brainstorming to help create fun, yet educational posts about cephalopods- Something everyone can read and enjoy! As someone who spent the better part of her childhood near the ocean in Miami, Florida, she grew up learning to appreciate all sea life. Her love for the sea inspired her to do something daring- she dyed her hair blue!
