On a cool winter morning, MetalCulptor Travis Pond changed in his large studio in Oregon City and was a selection of equipment and safety equipment, including apron and rubber gloves.
But its most important device – a welding burner.
He was in the middle of the end of his latest project -a large metal owl that was sitting on a large metal box that is supposed to be similar to a desired day.
The play entitled “Wishing OWL” is a permanent installation in the North Williams Avenue, which made its debut as part of the 2025 Winter Light Festivals in Portland.
The owl consists of repeated metal parts that are welded together. Each piece is meticulously placed to present the most striking features of the owl, including cut -cut bicycle drinks for the eyes and beak.
On this day, Pond planned to end the project and to silence the owl's feet.
“If you weld it, you have to deal with 240 volts and we melt metal. We do not make a liquid, but we liquefy it to a certain extent to melt them together.”
Once he was with the balance of the 250 pound sculpture took Teich with his welder, dropped his sweat mask and went to work.
Sparks flew in all directions when pond welded the metal together. As soon as he was finished, he took a step back and admired the finished product for a moment.
“It doesn't get out now, not in our lives anyway,” he said.
Pond was always attracted by metal objects.
“I don't know if magnets are in my eyes or it is only something I've done for so long that this is basically everything I see,” he jokes.
The Metalsmith artist Travis Pond adds part of a metal sculptures operated in the course of the metal sculpture. The finished product will resemble a heron in flight.
Steven Tonthat / OPB
As a Metalsmith, pond takes these scrap pieces and shows them to create striking and complicated sculptures. Some are quite accessible, like animals are different.
Where most people would see a piece of reinforcement or a rusted wrench, pond sees a valley for an eagle or the beak of a heron.
“I will find a piece that can be similar or used as a shoulder blade. This type of shape is noticeable, but I really only collect different random parts that are cut into smaller pieces,” he said.
The true magic of his work lies in a complicated way in which pond form the metal pieces and form structures that form the animal, which are often depicted in motion.
But he doesn't want the audience to simply admire the piece from afar. Instead, he wants you to take a closer look and explore the stories of the individual objects found.
“There is a story with all the materials I use, there is a story and I think these stories are important,” he said.
“I think to let the materials that are something recognizable connects the viewers … otherwise, why don't we melt them, make a form and pour a form?”
Travis Pond sits with his dog Nola. Teich works from his studio from Oregon City, where he takes scrap pieces and turns them into complicated, shaped works.
Steven Tonthat / OPB
Growing up in Corvallis, Pond studied sculpture and painting at the San Francisco Art Institute.
“The San Francisco Art Institute provided one of the best sculpture departments that I could find,” he said.
There he also discovered Metalsmithing.
“I loved the immediacy how the steel was put together and they immediately have structure. I always did the best with what they have. And what I have is a lot of scrap,” he said.
After graduation, Pond returned to Oregon to pursue his art career. He finally dropped the painting to concentrate exclusively on the sculpture.
“I sold my second piece that I have ever done, and I sold the fourth piece and then sold it. So it was so when I thought it could be a career,” he said.
Since then, Pond has primarily worked in the metal sculpture and created public tricks such as “Wunsch -owl” and for private collections.
He usually works on projects that can take weeks or months due to the particularly tedious shift of metal.
“The creative part, I would say, is about 10%. The rest is some craft and a lot of work and many just a broom and go through their thoughts,” he said.
But the most rewarding part of what he does is to watch the people who are committed and inspired by work.
“I'm in the studio all the time, so it's not my strong suit to connect with the audience,” he said. “My strong suit is to bring something to this audience and not necessarily be in the audience.”
On the day of the installation of the owl sculpture, the pond stepped back and watched as passers -by and admired his creation.
“All of these things I do are very personal. That's how I overcome my day and hopefully I do something that is an inspiration and does better the day.
“Because we all need it,” he said.
Travis Pond is in his studio in Oregon City.
Steven Tonthat / OPB