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Gatski Metal

Artist: Ben & Kate Gatski
Work Bloomburg Pennsylvania USA Etsy Shop Website

Biography

Handmade Metal Tables, Sculpture and Home Decor

We are Ben and Kate Gatski. We love creating fun art pieces that you will treasure forever. Our pieces are made to last a lifetime. They are rich with story – from their previous life to their creation to their place in your home.

In celebration of the story – here is a glimpse into ours…

About seventeen years ago Ben picked up the scrap metal lying around his parents farm and set to work with the welder. And so it began.

Today Ben woke up around 5 AM and milked a handful of Jersey cows. I (Kate) woke up shortly after, settled in front of the screen and my fingers went skipping, “Thank you for your interest in our work. We would be happy to… ” Ben filters the milk in the kitchen. We both gulp black tea.

The children came bumbling along. In between their desperate crys for food, clothing and attention Ben and I scrape together a plan. What are we shipping today? Don’t forget Frank’s order. Did you call that gallery back?

Out the front window a wide, open expanse of fields emerges. A dog howls in the distance and a motor engages. It’s morning in rural Pennsylvania.

Ben changes into his work bibs and heads to the shop (a couple hundred yards away). He hauls big chunks of dirty, greasy metal into the shop. He cuts out two halves of a shape, grabs the hammer and pounds on it. Then, he welds the shapes together. From amidst the raw – dust, flames and muscle something refined emerges- a sculpture.

I am orchestrating the basics. I am also scheming. We should schedule a photo shoot in three weeks because Allen wants to see new tables- and we want to send out a mailing- and we should do an email newsletter with a killer photo.

Here’s the big picture. We were given a creative inheritance. It wasn’t fancy and many times, not too pretty. Nonetheless, here we are. We’re steering a tidy little business making sculpture & furniture with reclaimed materials. We are driven to create something beautiful from nothing- turning raw into refined.