Metal mania Self-taught Fallowfield metal artist getting recognition
Aric Armbruster stands next to the forge in his studio.
A frog crafted by metalsmith Aric Armbruster
One of the more startling creations by metalsmith Aric Armbruster
Some of Aric Armbruster’s work
Aric Armbruster hammers a piece in his studio.
A scorpion crafted by Aric Armbruster
An intricate butterfly created by Aric Armbruster
If those with a knack for growing plants are said to have a green thumb, then Aric Armbruster must certainly have a black one.
The 37-year-old from Fallowfield Township is putting out some intricate and inventive pieces of metal art that are just now beginning to catch the eye of the buying public. He’s already had initial success marketing his items through word of mouth, on Facebook and at a recent art show and sale in Charleroi.
It’s not a bad start for a man who’s basically self-taught.
An auto body collision repairman by day at Budd Baer in Washington, Armbruster can be found many evenings in his studio, housed in the spacious garage his paternal grandfather built on the Fallowfield property on which he now lives.
A medium-size, coal-powered forge near the center of his studio is central to his work. Along the walls, the tools, materials and objects he’s already made are arranged in a what appears to be a jumbled mass in which only he can seem to find a patterned order.
Interested in making metal objects from the time he was barely able to lift a sledgehammer, Armbruster tinkered with metal in his youth, making rudimentary swords and daggers. He got experience by watching his maternal grandfather, Paul Luckner, a fire truck builder from Altoona, make things from wood and metal on visits to his home. Enrollment at Vale Technical Institute in Blairsville (now Wyo-Tech) taught him more, primarily the basics of auto body work.
About three years before he began making metal art in earnest, he began collecting the tools of the blacksmithing trade, including his trusty anvil. At the same time, he began scouring the Internet to learn as much as he could about metal work.
“There’s a lot of bad information out there, so you have to weed through it carefully,” he said. “I once saw a video of a metal artist welding zinc, a material that can make you sick with metal fume fever. It’s something you have to be careful of.”
A little over a year ago, his art-making took a new turn when he fabricated a metal frog for a fellow blacksmith who’d made him a couple of hammers. Because the blacksmith’s logo was the image of a frog sitting on an anvil, he personalizfed his gift by fabricating one of the main elements of the logo.
After showing a fellow Budd Baer employee the frog, the associate was so impressed he asked him to make him a scorpion. Later, when his boss saw that finished work, he requested that Armbruster make him a metal guitar. Voilà! Two of his first paying customers topped his list of sales.
“Things just seemed to go on from there,” Armbruster said.
Friends and relatives have been supportive of his artistry and are helping him get the word out to the general public. Recently, the metal artist also entered some of his work in an art and craft show in Charleroi, where he was successful in selling several smaller items.
To gather the old tools, car parts, spikes, bolts and everything else that’s metal and interesting that he needs to make his work, he goes to auctions and scours local yard sales and flea markets.
“Tools may be old and rusty, but if they have an interesting shape I love making sculptures out of them,” he said. “I find that antique car parts and farm equipment have much more character than the newer pieces.”
Browse his studio, and you’ll fund an eclectic mix that includes everything from horned bull bottle openers and a metal cat to elephants, an oversized assassin bug, even abstract pieces. On Facebook, he’s currently showing his image, “Crash,” a piece made up of a skull and a pair of skeletal arms grasping a steering wheel that’s gruesome enough to discourage anyone from texting while driving.
“I get my design ideas from friends, but also a lot of times the scrap metal seems to talk to me,” he said. “I’ll see things in it like my elephant, inspired by a used car water jacket.”
One of next year’s goals is to exhibit his work at places like the Covered Bridge Festival and, hopefully, the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh.
In the future, he also has his eye on making bigger items, like full-size animals. Already he’s toying with the idea of fabricating a dragon, but said he’d first need a bigger and heavier duty welder. He’d also like to get his hands on a power hammer to be able to work on bigger stock.
“Eventually, I’d like to quit my day job and get into blacksmithing and making metal sculptures full time,” he said. “It’s been my passion for a long time.”
Armbruster can be reached by email at aricarmbruster@gmail.com.