I had always wanted to make a seahorse sculpture and finally decided to create one for a coastal gallery order. The first problem was figuring out what type of seahorse to create! There are so many fascinating and stunning types, from the ornate leafy sea dragon (okay I know it's not technically a seahorse but they are very similar) to the bizarre pygmy seahorse. I finally decided to go with the spiny seahorse, also known as the thorny seahorse. Although I do think there is a zebra seahorse in my future.

Anyway I digress. This metal seahorse stood out to me because of the "spines" or "thorns" on its back. This allowed me to create complex curving spines and then I decided to do a burnt hole pattern along the back and to line the fin and face plates. I welded on the segmented body lines, then ground it and colored it using my torches. Then after some cold shaping, assembling and welding on a hanger it was ready to pack up and make its way to the ocean, or at least a gallery near the ocean.

This spiny seahorse sculpture is wall hanging, made entirely of stainless steel, colored using only heat patinas, and is safe to be kept outdoors!