Gregory Lashbrook is a multi-media artist. Gregory works in an unusually wide range of mediums including reverse painting on glass, deep carved glass, metal and found-object sculpture.
I like the heavy metal industrial feel of metal. The grunge. The strength. I feel the raw power of the industrial age coming through the pieces.
I admire how fast two pieces become one through molten heat and fire. They are bonded together with thousands of degrees of heat.
I like to use 16/11 rods.
Most of my metal comes from the bottom of the St. Clair River. I’m always looking for metal when I’m diving. Most of the time, I have absolutely no idea what the pieces were or where they came from.
Over the years, I’ve found a lot of steel balls. I always thought they were cannonballs since I found most of them offshore of where the old Fort Gratiot used to sit.
They’re not cannonballs.
It turns out the Peerless Co. used them. Peerless used steel balls in giant tumblers to help break up concrete. When the balls got worn down or severely pitted, they were discarded.
Usually into the St. Clair River.
I used one of the balls in my Bear Metal sculpture. The vertical piece is some sort of strap and pin that I found years ago off the old dockyard on Desmond Landing.
The base of Bear Metal Too is a tie-back washer often used on seawalls. I found if off the Thomas Edison Parkway.
One of the cool things about getting my metal from underwater is that the zebra mussels give the metal a pitted patina that I love.
When it comes to putting the pieces together, I let the metal talk to me.
I visualize them going together in my mind’s eye before I physically try to put them together. I either like it… hate it… or find a better way. It’s a feeling.
By moving the pieces around, sometimes I can get something that’s even better than I was thinking. Other times, the pieces have to sit on a table for a long time before it’s a sure thing.
PRO TIP: I use Rustoleum Clear Lacquer to seal the metal. It holds up well outside and doesn’t yellow.
I use skulls because I like to honor the spirit of the animal that possessed it.
For my Bear Metal sculptures, I used bear skulls that I got from a taxidermist who was a good friend that passed away way before his time.
To me, a white skull is virginal. I paint the skulls with metallics to transform their naturalness. I take away their virgin aspect and transform them into an industrial-grunge.
I don’t necessarily like grunge. I do it more in protest of the industrial age making everything metal. At the same time, we’re all part of the industrial complex now. So I paint them to resemble glowing metal forms.
Gregory’s work is currently available for viewing at Studio North in Lakeport MI. To schedule an appointment, check artwork availability or get custom pricing visit our CONTACT page.
