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A custom fabrication professional is sawing a sheet of metal

3 Ways Custom Fabrication Shapes Public Art

Think of some of your favorite large-scale art installations. How did the artist construct such an incredible hulk of beauty? Custom fabrication. For thousands of years, artists have utilized assistants and professional fabricators to forge their designs into reality. Today, communities and artists alike rely on custom fabrication professionals to construct quality art installations that generate public interest and revenue.

EG Structural has been designing large-scale art pieces for communities and commercial properties for over 25 years. We’re proud to work with incredibly skilled fabrication engineers to bring our ideas to reality. They’re the unsung heroes of our field and we’re happy to share how they shape public art.

Custom Fabrication Calls for State-of-the-Art Methods

In today’s technological world, fabrication engineers are utilizing incredible innovations to bring artists’ designs to life. Additionally, they’re knowledgeable in the best techniques to efficiently construct an artistic landmark. It’s not uncommon for custom fabrication professionals to use computer graphics, computer-aided engineering software, and geometry and object modeling to develop curve, surface, and object representations.

When it came to our Tulsa Route 66 monument, we relied heavily on the expertise of fabrication engineers. The design incorporated large loops that surround the giant Tulsa Route 66 sign. Additionally, it called for several features like lighting fixtures, counter-weights, and other features that can withstand harsh weather conditions. The assistance we received from the fabricator is instrumental in the monument’s longevity and overall structural integrity.

Fabrication Engineers are Problem-Solvers

According to Art Work Archive, most projects begin with “how are we going to do this?”. This is a question every public artist will ask themselves as they design their large-scale art piece. Fortunately, when you partner with custom fabrication engineers you’re provided with the support and knowledge needed to effectively erect gorgeous structures.

We’re artists, we know how to conceptualize and design a project. We’re not engineers. That is why fabrication engineers are paramount in the installation process. They’ll know how to construct the monument and the best way to install it to secure structural integrity.

When it came to our Village of Los Lunas Welcome signage, custom fabrication was key. Because the off-ramp where the signs are located is elevated, the foundation was not a natural landscape. After testing the soil to determine its strength and depth, we had our fabricators construct and place a counterweight to the 22-foot high monument.

Custom Fabrication Involves Imagination and Innovation

We already mentioned that fabrication engineers are problem-solvers. They’re also very in-tune with the artists and creatives they work with. In order to bring our concepts to life, they work directly with us to figure out what engineering pieces need to be added to secure a quality piece. They’ll work with us to figure out how the art installation will function and how it is actually built. This involves an open mind and the ability to come up with ways to make the installation larger than life.

EG Structural Turns Ideas into Reality

A design means nothing without the help of custom fabrication engineers. They’re an incredible asset to the public artist and must secure the longevity and integrity of the structure. Whenever we work on a large-scale art project, we look to them for their knowledge and experience.

EG Structural is fortunate to have partnered with several wonderful individuals to design public art that highlights their unique communities. We combine intense research, strong conceptual design, custom fabrication, and engineering expertise to develop landmarks that inspire engagement. We help build an identity that exhibits what it means to be a part of a community. Contact us today to learn about our expertise and how we can help boost your identity.

EG Structural Large Scale Art Sculpture Pieces Tulsa Route 66

Designing Sculpture Pieces That Inspire Community Engagement

For centuries, people have used art as a tool to express themselves and capture the realities around them. Its mediums take many forms, ranging from painting, drawings, and large sculpture pieces. Today, art is a necessary component of our city’s infrastructure. Think of some of the most prominent cities in the United States, you’ll notice how large-scale sculptures play a critical role in their identity.

EG Structural constructs public art installations that invoke a response. We capture the unique qualities of a community and memorialize them through fine art. In partnership with custom fabrication professionals, EG Structural’s Eric Garcia is happy to highlight your identity with an intricate design. Learn how sculpture pieces inspire the communities they are located in and what this means for you.

Understand Proportion and Scale

One of the basic principles of constructing sculpture pieces is utilizing proportions and size. Sometimes it’s necessary to adapt the proportions of the piece to suit its position to the viewer. Imagine looking at a sculpture high on a building. The piece will likely be made large on the upper part of the structure to ensure it reduces foreshortening.

Additionally, the scale of the sculpture needs to be considered in relation to its surroundings. When it’s located inside a building, it needs to fit the area it resides. When it comes to open-air sculptures – art installations that are located outside – you need to take into account that they’ll appear less massive in the studio.

How Large-Scale Sculpture Pieces Leave Communities in Awe

EG Structural loves creating things we’ve never done before. Each sculpture tells a story and highlights the unique features of a community or business. When creating pieces that symbolize their identity, usually it’s more significant with large-scale designs. For instance, take our Tulsa Route 66 sign. It’s a powerhouse of a monument that demands attention from passersby.

We’ve heard countless stories and comments from people saying they had to stop to see it up close. Often we’d hear them say how amazing the structure is because of its size. From afar, it already looks big, but up close? It’s even more impressive.

Large-Scale Sculpture Pieces Resonate with Tourists

Think of other large-scale sculpture pieces across the country. Cloud Gate in Chicago attracts tourists from around the world to admire its enormous reflective exterior. Or look at New York City’s line of statues that live in Central Park, honoring pioneering women from history and literature. The sheer size of art installations can gain attention and have a significant impact on its viewers’ feelings and your community.

Art can be used as a powerful tool to attract travelers to the piece. Resulting in further exploration of your community, leading to more money going towards local businesses and building a strong identity.

EG Structural Is Open For Corporate and Government Commission Projects

At EG Structural we have a passion for creating projects that inspire. For over 25 years, Eric Garcia has provided strong conceptual design to develop timeless public art projects that embody the spirit of our clients. Whether they’re a corporate entity or a municipality, we see what makes them special and design a sculpture that highlights their exceptionality.

If your organization is looking for a private commission sculpture piece, contact EG Structural today and we’ll be in touch with you as soon as possible!

EG Structural's creative wayfinding signage for Albuquerque Route 66 signs

What is Creative Wayfinding and How Can It Help the Public?

Navigation is fundamental in our daily lives. This is especially true when visiting new cities and large businesses as it makes it easier to understand where you need to go. One way municipalities and businesses ensure easy navigation is through creative wayfinding. It’s an incredible resource that guides you to your desired destination. Many organizations are using wayfinding signage to highlight their unique identity. As a result, the signage acts as a functional piece of art that benefits tourists and citizens.

At EG Structural, we’ve designed several creative wayfinding pieces, such as Mesa del Sol and Albuquerque Route 66 signs, to enrich the community experience. Learn how wayfinding can play a critical role in reaching your organization’s goals.

Creative Wayfinding Helps You Stand Out

We interact with wayfinding all the time. You’ll find them in grocery stores, retail shops, roadways, airports, and much more. The purpose of wayfinding is to get you from point A to point B as directly as possible. If the planning, design, and implementation are developed appropriately, users will be able to make an educated directional choice. However, this is not achieved without the expertise of a designer.

Moreover, there’s huge potential to create signage that informs, but it stands out. This not only creates a unique identity for your brand and community but also gets eyes on the sign. As part of our Mesa del Sol project, our goal was to effectively guide users to their destination with a complementing theme. That theme includes the surrounding natural plant life and the area’s modern architectural design. As a result, our creative wayfinding signage added another level of identity to the area.

It is Signage That Offers a Helping Hand

Think about all the times you’ve taken a trip somewhere you’ve never been before. Remember how you might have missed that turn in Albuquerque or kept driving on that long stretch of road? The whole purpose of wayfinding is to help you avoid these situations. Nightingale said it best: “The goal is not to herd people but to encourage successful exploration”.

There are so many destinations people can visit, with many possible routes they can use to get to them. A lot of people take wayfinding for granted when driving in a new area, but a lot goes into the signage. For instance, we had to follow strict guidelines set by the Department of Transportation to construct our Albuquerque Route 66 signs. We had to adhere to regulations such as:

Use specific fonts and font sizes
Use a specific size for our arrows
Make the signs reflective so drivers can effectively see them at night
And much more

While we faced these challenges during the design phase of the project, we were able to adapt. These constraints allowed us to design something that’s equally attractive as it is functional. As a result, we put a spotlight on the city’s historic stretch of Route 66 while creating helpful navigation signs for passersby.

Creative Wayfinding Serves Small Communities

When we constructed the Mesa del Sol signage, we made sure it can be easily adapted to the community. We made it so the client could change the destinations on the signs in the event a business is no longer there. We knew we had to create something to make it easier for our client to adapt their signage to new community additions.

One of our goals with Mesa del Sol was to inform users of the businesses that are there. Wayfinding is a valuable tool for communities, as it highlights the businesses in the area. Moreover, they inspire people to explore and engage with the community. We develop each of our signs to invoke a strong emotion and generate interest in the area.

EG Structural Are Creative Professionals on a Mission

For over 25 years, EG Structural has been on a mission to create private commission work that evokes a response from community members. Whether we’re developing creative wayfinding designs or large-scale sculpture pieces, we always look for ways to shine a light on our clients’ identities. Contact us today to learn how we can highlight your unique background.

Cloud Gate or "The Bean" in Millennium Park in Chicago with visitors looking at the large scape public art

3 Incredible Ways Public Art Beautifies and Unifies Your City

One of the most effective ways to beautify and build pride in a city is by incorporating public art installations into your infrastructure. More and more cities are trying to figure out how to generate interest from locals and out-of-towners. As a result, they’re turning to artists and custom fabrication professionals to develop engaging public art pieces to revitalize areas and encourage tourism.

Urban renewal, green spaces, public art, all are becoming critical strategies in the town’s revitalization initiatives. At EG Structural, we’ve assisted municipalities in developing large-scale art sculptures that become a part of their beautification plan and a part of their identity. Here is what we’ve seen with the projects that we’ve been a part of.

Public Art Can Build a Public Identity

One of the problems many cities are facing is the loss of residents due to their relocation. This can be caused by several factors, like the job market, livability, and the environment. But, another reason may be because of a lack of interest in the city itself.

Public art has an incredible way of resonating with communities and enthralling resident’s attention. Oftentimes, public art installations incorporate elements that relate to the city’s history or attributes to evoke their emotions. When we began designing our Tulsa Route 66 monument we knew we had to incorporate elements that inspire perseverance.

Take a look at other famous modern sculptures and how they reflect their city’s identity. When you visit ‘Cloud Gate’ or more commonly known as ‘The Bean’ in Chicago, it literally reflects what the city is all about. You can stare at it for hours, looking at the surrounding skyscrapers and Chicagoans hustling by. It’s designed to inspire you and reflect what the city is all about in a unique way.

Art Can Build a Sense of Community

If you’ve ever paid a visit to Phoenix, you might have noticed the abundance of murals that grace the buildings downtown or brick fences in developing neighborhoods. These pieces have enabled artists to express their creativity while attracting people to these blooming cityscapes.

Whether it’s a large-scale art sculpture or mural, art has the power to bring people together. Additionally, it creates a welcoming environment that invites people to walk through the neighborhood and discover new art and sculpture pieces. Moreover, it invites people to engage with community members, local businesses, and feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves.

Excite Tourism with Engaging Public Art

Think about it, when people travel, what kind of places do they visit? According to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the President’s Committee on the Arts, 35.3 million adults say art or a cultural related event influences their choice of destination. This creates a huge opportunity for municipalities to invest in public art installations to invigorate tourism in their cities.

Once the public art piece is installed, communities can use innovative ways to encourage tourism towards their installations. Many cities are incorporating art walks, after-dark tours, and putting marketing towards their landmarks. Additionally, partnering up with local organizations creates unique opportunities for people to encounter art and engage with local businesses.

Beautify Your Community With EG Structural’s Artistic Expertise

One of the greatest things a municipality can do in its beautification initiative is to partner with an artist. EG Structural develops public art installations that embody what a community is about and attract individuals to the landmark. Moreover, our work will grab the attention of out-of-towners and generate a new source of tourism dollars. We have a passion for public art, and fully believe it can set your city apart from the rest. Contact EG Structural today to learn how our founder and artist, Eric Garcia can help beautify your city.

A Large Scale Art Installation of a kinetic art sculpture

Kinetic Art Sculptures: Where Art Takes Life

If you remember back to your middle school physics class, kinetic energy is energy in motion. It’s a fascinating scientific principle that many people forget has a significant place in public art. These kinetic art sculptures evoke strong emotional responses due to their fluidity and strong design features. Additionally, businesses and government entities benefit from public enthusiasm – leading to higher tourist and consumer activity.

EG Structural has a deep passion for creating public art pieces that recognize your unique identity. Kinetic art installations are just one specialty that we are capable of providing to ensure your brand is represented artistically and functionally. Our article below details what goes into a beautiful kinetic art sculpture and its impact on public perception.

The Popularity of Kinetic Art Sculptures?

In the 20th century, the use of movement in art became a popular aspect of many prominent sculpture pieces. This art form is called kineticism and its popularity has not slowed down. Many private art commission sculptures adopt some form of kineticism due to their simple, but fluid design. Artists like Naum Gabo, Marcel Duchamp, László Moholy-Nagy, and Alexander Calder were prominent figures in the movement and inspired artists and sculpture lovers from around the world.

What Goes into Kinetic Art Projects?

The magic behind kinetic art sculptures is not easy to come by. It takes a lot of energy and resources to ensure everything is in working order. Furthermore, just like with any large-scale art project, it takes a lot of brainstorming, designing, engineering, and custom fabrication knowledge to bring art to life.

Building kinetic art sculptures is equally an art project as it is a scientific experiment. It involves designing pieces that when put together will move in unison. Depending on the artist’s design, it will incorporate different parts to power movement, like wind and motors.

To design a kinetic sculpture, artists will painstakingly create each piece on paper or digitally. Then with the power of custom fabrication, these pieces will become reality and fit together to form the intricate design. When enlisting an artist for a private commission art project, businesses and municipalities should hire an artist or company that will:

Conceptualize and design a sculpture based on your feedback
Coordinate production, quality, and risk minimization throughout the installation
Coordinate with custom fabrication, transportation, and construction professionals
Make recommendations on proper sculpture maintenance

Kinetic Art Sculpture’s Impact on The Community

Public art adds enormous value to our communities by providing cultural, aesthetic, and economic vitality. Structures such as kinetic art have become an accepted aspect of urban design because of its contribution to the area’s identity. Additionally, it fosters a sense of pride and inspiration for residents and tourists alike. Simply put, communities without public art are a little less vibrant and people are less likely to feel pride in their city or business.

EG Structural Has a Passion For Building Timeless Landmarks

EG Structural is proud of every public art installation we’ve designed and constructed for our clients. We partner with skilled experts to produce quality relics that embody the spirit of the community it is built for. Whether it’s a kinetic art sculpture or a single standing structure, EG Structural is passionate about building large-scale relics that you and your community can admire for years to come. Contact us today to discuss a possible private commission project.