john t. unger studio

New World Domination Olympic Style Torches and free books too

Last year, Chris Guillebeau asked me to make an Olympic style torch that would travel cross country with Adam Baker to be lit at the opening ceremony of the inaugural World Domination Summit. I loved the idea, and the traveling torch was a great success. Here's Adam lighting the torch at the opening ceremony:

I was also a speaker at the conference, delivering an address on turning disaster into opportunity. The speech was based on one of my most popular blog posts ever— "It's only life or death. It's always only life or death." Some of the best things that ever happened to me initially appeared to be disasters… but by learning to leverage the force of a disaster to pivot it into a positive event, I actually came out far ahead of where I would have been. In an interview on Chris' blog, I detailed some of the techniques I use to accomplish this, and that was also the meat of my address at the conference.

Chris has an awesome new book out: The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future. The stories and lessons I presented at the conference are retold by Chris in the book and, as he described it to me, are "the anchor at the end that ties it all together."

To celebrate being one of the featured entrepreneurs in the book I've made ten new World Domination Olympic Style Torches.

I have six copies of Chris' book to give away. The books will go to the first six people who order one of the new torches. I don't think that these torches will become a stock item because the small oxygen tanks they're cut from are a bit hard to come by… So if you want one, I would grab it soon. Here are some preview images of the torches:

You can purchase the new torches here.

Great Bowl O' Fire featured in Artful Home Newsletter and catalogs

The Great Bowl O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl is prominently featured in the Artful Home's email newsletter this week.

The Great Bowl O' Fire was included in the Artful Home Spring Catalog and will be in the upcoming summer catalog as well. Artful Home is a juried collection of work by many of the best artists in North America. It's truly an honor to show alongside the likes of Boris Balley, Isaac Arms, Ben Gatski and Cherie Haney. You can sign up for Artful Home's catalog here or sign up for their email newsletter here. Both are a great way to discover new art and the quality of their selections has earned them a great reputation.

Celebrating Seven Years of Sculptural Firebowls and Sculptural Firebowl No. 1000

I created the very first Great Bowl O' Fire on May 30, 2005.The seventh anniversary is coming right up!

When I first came up with the idea, I never expected to make more than one. I thought it would maybe get me some mentions on blogs and that I'd move on to making other things. I certainly had no idea that within five years I would have shipped a firebowl to every state and over ten countries, or that the firebowls would make the New York Times (twice!) or that they would bring so many people together.

Today marks another milestone as well. Mandi in Hoover, Alabama just ordered Sculptural Firebowl No. 1000! An Isosceles Modern Sculptural Firebowl. As a thank you gift for helping me hit that landmark, I'm also sending her one of my last remaining Bottle Cap Fish Mosaics— Silvertone: Bottle Cap Fish Mosaic No. 29.

I'm deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to make a decent living in the arts while enriching other people's lives. It's been an exciting seven years as I've built and grown the studio… and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.

The very first Great Bowl O' Fire currently resides at Ascension Church in Oak Park, IL, where it is used for Easter Vigil liturgy.

Waves O Fire Firebowls at Grand Opening for Seaworld San Antonio's Aquatica Waterpark

Tomorrow is the VIP Grand Opening for Seaworld San Antonio's new Aquatica Waterpark and two of my Waves O' Fire Firebowls will be a part of the celebration. The firebowls are a temproray installation just for the Grand Opening, but there is a strong possibility that I'll be doing some custom stingray themed firebowls for the Aquatica later in the year.

The Waves O' Fire fire features will be on display for the public Grand Opening, Saturday, May 19 through May 21st and I'm told there will also be fire dancers and performance of some kind. I hope to get some great photos and video of the event soon. If you're in San Antonio or nearby, stop in for the show!

I'm totally planning a visit to Aquatica on my next trip to Texas because I want to see the Ke-Re Reef, where you can touch and feed Cownose and Southern stingrays— Seriously, how cool is that!

Great Bowl O Fire Firebowl with Stone Benches

Lori in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan just sent me the above photo with a note: "We love our new firebowl and thought you might like a photo. You do beautiful work!"

I love the way this installation turned out. I made the base a little shorter than usual by special request, since the firebowl was to be installed on the slab of stone. The ring of stone seating is a beautiful mix of function and natural landscape. The natural gas line that runs through the stone slab into the Great Bowl O' Fire is perfectly concealed.

Big Bowl O Zen at Nada Restaurant in Cincinnati

On the drive down to SXSW this year we decided to take a few days extra and enjoy the trip, stopping to photograph some of the more awesome Firebowl installations that were (sort of) on the way.

The first stop was Nada, a stylish purveyor of "ingredient driven, contemporary Mexican cuisine." The reviews on Yelp led me to believe the food would be excellent, which proved to be more than true. The pork green chili burrito I had was one of the best Mexican meals I've ever eaten, and the Mexican mac 'n cheese also lived up to the hype. Everything from the ambience, to the service, to the food and drinks was superb.

After we ate, I shot some photos and talked to General Manager Allison K. Shaw and Assistant General Manager Chris Smith. They both expressed how much the restaurant and it's patrons enjoy the 41 inch Big Bowl O' Zen, which is lit every evening during the colder months. They told me that they remove the firebowl during summer to make room for more seating and that everyone on staff fights to be the one to take it home for the season.

I'll definitely have to return during the evening for dinner and some photos of the firebowl litup.

One of the design touches I really liked was the seating around the Big Bowl O' Zen. The fence-post back rests on the larger benches really appeal to me. I also liked the carved wooden benches that look like they come from the roots of giant trees.

Firewood for the Big Bowl O' Zen is stacked between urns at the front of the restaurant patio, creating a nice visual effect and defining the space.

Heat lamps provide a little extra comfort. Because the restaurant faces a large open plaza, I suspect it gets a bit windy at times.

The Lanterns in the trees were one of my favorite design elements of the patio area. Even though it was a cold day when we visited, the lanterns incandescent filaments added a nice touch of warmth.

A shot from the plaza showing the front face of the restaurant and the firewood stacks for the Big Bowl O' Zen. The designer did a great job of combining modern architecture with rustic elements.

Looking toward Sixth Street and the corner of the Contemporary Arts Center directly across the street.

Closeup of the lamp filaments in the trees.

Looking straight up into the tree lamps at a wintery March sky.

The Great Bowl O' Fire Firebowl in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales

About a year ago, I shipped my first Sculptural Firebowl to Australia, a Great Bowl O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl for a log home in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Craig just sent me some photos of the firebowl, now that they've finished their landscaping. I like the rough log pavillion for what looks like a pizza oven. Now that I think of it, a patio pizza oven seems like a pretty brilliant idea!

Meridian Sculptural Firebowl at Allure Waikiki

Photo Credit: Eric Staudenmaier.
Click here to enlarge image.

The largest firebowl I've done to date is the 53 inch diameter Meridian Sculptural Firebowl installed on the 6th floor pool deck at Allure Waikiki. I absolutely love the above photo by Eric Staudenmaier and how it captures the glow of the fire on the teak deck. If Eric were based in Hawaii rather than LA, I'd absolutely hire him to shoot all of the other firebowls installed in hotels throughout the Hawaiin Islands!

This firebowl was quite a challenge to make, ship and have installed really— it weighs around 600 pounds and required a crane to put in place. Here's a video I shot before shipping it that shows the relative size of the 53 inch firebowl next to a standard 37 inch Meridian firebowl.

I also posted a video on my Facebook page that shows the crated firebowl being lifted into the freight truck with a bobcat. If you're into that kind of thing.

Drawing with the heat of 4.5 suns in your hand

When most artists say they are "on fire" they mean that they're inspired. When metalworkers say it, you should reach for the nearest entinguisher.

I make jokes about "catching fire a little bit" while working in the studio, but the truth is— there's a lot of sparks flying around when you cut and grind steel and no amount of safety gear is going to protect you completely. Just like line cooks get used to hot grease spattering, you get used to the sparks. You also get really good at removing hot pans from the oven.

The carbon steel I cut firebowls from melts at 2600°F–2800°F. The handheld plasma torch I cut with is around 45,000 °F. That's 4.5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. Think about that a minute— I'm holding a torch that is more than four times as hot as the sun!

Because I'm holding the torch in my hand, my hands take the brunt of the sparks. For the most part, as you can see in the photo above, the sparks are on the other side of whatever I'm cutting. But there's a also a backsplatter of molten steel that shoots directly at the back of my left hand as I steady the torch. These sparks used to catch my gloves on fire pretty routinely. Even when the metal cools enough in the air not to cause a fire, it's still pretty hot and you can get a bit of a suntan inside your glove.

The thing is— in order to cut really intricate and smooth lines, you want to minimize the amount of safety gear that weighs you down and causes friction, while simultaneous preventing injury. Imagine trying to draw delicate lines while wearing hockey or football protective gear. Same thing really. And although its nice not to constantly set your hand on fire, as the metal builds up on the heat shield, it tends to catch on the surface of the bowl as you move, making it much harder to draw smooth lines.

Here's a photo of a new glove, a glove with a new Aluminized Carbon Kevlar® Heat Resistant Backhand Pad, and a glove with a kevlar shield that has built up a thick coating of molten steel over the course of a couple months. Kevlar, as you may know already, is what bullet proof vest are made from.

Molten steel buildup from several months on the surface of a glove.

Note the holes where steel has burned right through the Kevlar.

A brand new pad after cuttin a single firebowl.

Fire Features at Wichita Waterwalk

Photo Credit: Chris Rush

 

This photo of the King Isosceles Firebowl at WaterWalk Place in Wichita is stunning! Chris did a great job of shooting a night photo that still gives a sense of the landscape around the firebowl.

WaterWalk Place is a multi-use destination on the banks of the Arkansas River in the heart of the city's cultural, entertainment, government and business center. Featuring upscale shops, luxury living and premium business sites. Seasonal activities within the development include outdoor concerts, art fairs, charity benefits and holiday celebrations. The Waterwalk Commons features fountains, greenbelts, walking paths and two of my Sculptural Firebowls.

The pictures by Vanessa below give a nice sense of how the King Isosceles fits into the larger landscape. It was very kind of Vanessa to forward her pictures and the one by Chris.

Photo Credit: Vanessa Johnson

 

Photo Credit: Vanessa Johnson

 

Waterwalk also has a Waves O' Fire Sculptural Firebowl installed, but I only have photos of the waves bowl taken during construction. If anyone in Wichita would be willing to send me updated photos of the Waves O' Fire, I'd be deeply grateful!

Photo Credit: Daniel Earnest

 

Photo Credit: Daniel Earnest