Client: private client

Overview

Designed & created by artists & blacksmiths, Matthew & Karine Maynard of Maynard Studios in Lawrenceburg, Ky. This /- 35 linear foot custom railing was to incorporate nautical lines without being a literal representation of nautical elements for a private home overlooking the Ohio River. Hand forged steel was then finished with wire brushwith and clear enamel topcoat and all forged bronze was waxed and polished. Installed by the artists.

Goals

Located in the center of the home, this railing was to be handmade and complement the other meticulous craftsmanship & sense of whimsy in the home. Details include: newel posts were heavily forged solid round steel with details that echoed other details & contemporary nautical theme. The balusters were forged from solid rectangular steel (seeing wider dimension when viewed from side) with a long elegant taper and a draping element between every other one. Hand forged bronze convex handgrip added warmth and beauty. Ship's wheel incorporated to actually spin, yet be attached to the railing on the second floor.

Process

The client approached the artists with the challenge of incorporating an actual ship's wheel they had acquired into the design of the railing. Initially, the homeowner thought the wheel could have been "locked in place". Matthew Maynard's suggested, "If I had been a ship's wheel my entire life, I don't think I would want to be locked down in my retirement,". And so the homeowner approved of the design & creation of kinetic work.

Additional Information

A small "piston" (purely artistic, non functioning) moves up and down into the floor, as if to be running something in the home when the wheel is being turned.