Infilling The Gaps, Our Sphere Sculptures.

June 13, 2023

The sculpture that has the ability to not only wow, but suit a variety of outside areas & still be subtle if you choose it to be – Our Sphere Sculptures.

Not only are they one of the most popular sculptures we create, the variety of styles & finishes we have are never ending -they are also available in an array of sizes to suit!

Each sphere starts out with the pattern design, we currently have a selection of pattern pieces including our, sail, swift, beech leaf & oak leaf; These known patterns are just our stock patterns, we are able to customize any pattern to suit each client, so everyone can have their very own custom made sphere!

Once we have cut out all of the pieces required from 6mm thick mild steel, each piece is then placed in to the furnace, which is heated up to an unthinkable temperature before we hand texture each individual piece using our oldest studio machine – the power hammer – our power hammer is a machine from the 1930’s that still provides us with a fully function (albeit loud) service!

Once each mild steel pattern piece has been textured with the sheer force of the power hammer, they are hand beaten with our own hands using old blacksmith techniques & tools to form the slight curves & detail that each sphere requires to keep the curves & rounded finish.

Once the pieces have cooled down from the furnace & have been textured they can be placed piece by piece – pattern by pattern on to our different sphere size moulds we’ve created.
We create the spheres of all sizes in two halves enabling us to get the perfect spherical shape, we also add on our long “floating tubes” which are effectively the base core of the spheres, they are also made from mild steel but in a tubular form.

These floating tubes are the illumination kit holders & protectors when we install the sculptures, they also slot directly on the box frame bases that the spheres are placed on for stability, securing & structure.

The base frames when installed are invisible as they are placed underground enabling us to provide you with the “floating effect”.

Once the two halves are made, we then place them together carefully adding in any further pieces to make the circle complete.

We offer our spheres in a Rustic patina finish, which we encourage with a solution at the Elliott of London studio to produce some of the most stunning warm oranges & browns tones.

This is where the sphere sculptures creating process finished for the Rustic Patina Sphere’s, like our Beech Leaf, Oak Leaf & our Swift Spheres!
They are simply oozing with natural tones, textures & feel – ready for any outdoor area, spaces, gardens, or events!

For any other finish options, we take the spheres to be Hot Zinc Galvanised finish to protect from weathering & self-corrosion.

The Hot Zinc Galvanised finish is the next process & gives a subtle silvery grey finish which is also suitable for many.

The sculptures are taken up to our Galvanising team, where they undergo a whole host of treatments in huge tanks, which we they offer to us on 24hr service!

Once hot zinc galvanised the spheres are re-palleted for us to collected – then its back to the studio so we can fettle them up & get the ready for installation or on to the other processes we provide!

So if the Hot Zinc Galvanised finish isn’t quite right for you then we offer fully hand painted finish options, which include our famous Verdigris & Gold, Matte Black & Copper, then there is even an option for solid colour powered coating which we can match up to any RAL colour!

The outer hand painted paint is a wax based paint which is sail, by sail or swift by swift painted on by one of the team & a then internal paint is a metallic based paint which is also hand painted on – the time for each size sphere’s hand painting varies depending on the surface area but it involves one of the team popping their hand within the Sphere sculptures to get the perfect finish each & every time!

Now that the Spheres are finished in any of the above options to suit we are even able to offer you illumination kits, the absolute icing on the cake for these sphere sculptures.

The illumination kits sit flush & barely noticeable in the spheres floating tubes! A perfect way to add another something to that untouched garden area or outdoor space.

Our LED Illumination Kit information is as follows – We can supply a low volt LED warm white or cool white uplighter for your sculpture. Our IP68 Rated illumination kits stainless steel light is supplied with a dimmable driver. With 12 months warranty and 7 years manufacturers warranty.

We can work with your electrician to find the best solution for supply and installation. We can provide more information on request, other illumination designs are available dependant on the desired effect.

So there you have a deep dive into the piece by piece creation of each of our stunning sphere sculptures….

Intriged? Find out more on our website!