Local artist Darren Sakwi’s talents reach far beyond sketching pictures. His most recent metal sculpture is proof, as it now sits on permanent display at 287 Broadway in downtown Winnipeg.
Sakwi has been making sculp-tures for six years through his business, Stainless Concepts. It all started when a fellow artist, Marcel Gosselin of La Salle, asked if Darren could work with him in
fabricating a sculpture for a competition.
“After a few meetings reviewing [Gosselin’s] work, he noticed my interest and ability to draw,” Sakwi explains. “He stressed that I do a few drawings of sculptures. So a few months later I showed him a few drawings and he then suggested I quit my job and tackle sculpture art.”
Sakwi has not quit his day job, as he has a family to support, but he has completed and sold all but his first of 12 sculptures in the last 6 years.
So how do these pieces of art
begin? With a little inspiration, of
course. When asked where his inspiration comes from, he says, “Many
places. Music, phrases, human figure, and most recently history representation.” When Sakwi says “human
figure,” a big part of this comes from his role as a father. Darren’s daughter is
in competitive dance. “You could imagine the infinite number of positions the body can create in just one routine.”
Sakwi’s son has a genetic condition called Fragile X syndrome. “I try to imagine life through his eyes. I recently did a drawing of him playing the piano as how I think he sees. The piano has 5 keys that are all astray and his body is slumped over the keys as though he’s trying to get as close as possible to the beautiful sound he is creating.”
From this inspiration comes a sketch, which only takes 5 minutes. After a few sketches, he picks one which has nice flow and balance, keeping in mind that sheet metal can only do certain things. Then a model is made from construction paper. This takes anywhere from 4 to 24 hours.
“From model to flat sheet metal, it will take another 10 hours if I go the route of laser cutting. This is a process
where I take the flat pattern and import a digital copy into AutoCAD and create the flats for laser cutting.”
Then the real sculpting begins, which can take anywhere from 40 to 100 hours in the shop. From a pallet full of puzzle pieces to an incredible sculpture work of art.
If you are interested in seeing Sakwi’s creations, you can hire him, or go to Broadway in Winnipeg. The pictured metal piece of art is called “The Gathering.”
When asked what’s the meaning behind it, Sakwi says, “The X marks the heart of Winnipeg and the joining of our river where people gathered many years ago.”
