Blacksmith Mark Puigmarti designs and creates custom ironwork and sculptures for private and commercial clients. His studio is located in Port Perry, Ontario near Toronto. Mark blends traditional forging techniques with hot-dip galvanizing to produce time-enduring treasures. 

As a sculptural piece of iron art, each structure has both visual appeal as well as a functional purpose of being a rain catcher.  As such the Designer needed a solution that provided long-term protection from the elements, specifically from water collection.  The end look and feel was extremely important to the Designer.  He was very specific in how the finished product should appear and was looking for a partner who understood this and was willing to work with him to achieve his artistic vision while delivering the functional aspects of corrosion prevention.

Having worked with hot-dip galvanizing in the past, the Blacksmith chose to work with a galvanizer known for its reputation of working with artists to achieve their specific aesthetic requirements while delivering a superior corrosion prevention coating.

The Vine Trees were very intricate, and required a lot of care and special planning to galvanize effectively.  The Trees vary from 7 to 9 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet at widest points consisting of (3) 12ft. of 1 1/2" hex bar, hot twisted forward and reverse to create the surface patterns. Each bar is individually hot formed to create a helix, with the ends forge tapered into roots and tip.  Each of the three main vines consists of 9 various lengths of forged rebar branches with tapered tails at one end and leaf sculpture at the other. 1" round bar spacers that look bulbish from hot squashing them. Each vine/tree was assembled on-site to account for the unevenness of the landscape stone upon which it would rest and required hot forming of the 27 branches and wrapping tails of each using a propane/oxy torch.

The Designers vision for the finish of this piece was of raw, hand forged steel, which has many facets and details on its surface inherent to hand forging.  Using a single color finish homogenizes those details and they become lost; therefore, the artist was searching for a solution that provided the richness and texture of raw forged steel with the needed anti-corrosive properties. To achieve this, the finished hot dip zinc galvanized piece was treated with a chemical patina that reacts with the galvanized coating and transformed the silvery finish to a mottled brown/black, returning the look of raw, hand forged steel. To maintain this patina, the full piece was sealed with an industrial clear flat coating, a very durable two-part (galvanizing/water based clear coat) Duplex System that has worked well on previous projects.

The Designer realized the intrinsic value of utilizing paint over hot-dip galvanized steel known as a Duplex System.  By using a clear top coat together with the underlying galvanized coating, the corrosion protection of the two systems combined will be far superior to either protection system used independently.  As stand-alone sculptures there are many intricate and unique details that highlight the hand forging process.  These individual details enhance the overall aesthetic become part of the artistic design, therefore it was integral that these details be maintained  to visually register as hand forged outputs and not be covered up by the protective coating. 

Their function as rain catchers meant that moisture is integral to the function of these pieces, therefore it was important to have long term protection to preserve the hand forged details of the sculptures.  To provide an illustration, each unique tree sculpture was designed to provide several levels of function and visual interest, creating ever changing water features that are designed to work with the seasons. For example, in winter, the tops and branches and leaves they are designed to become encased in snow and/or ice appearing as ice sculptures.  These details would be subject to moisture variable temperatures and weather conditions constantly throughout the year.  So the solution must take into account the constant wear and tear while respecting the beauty and the fine details that create each art piece.

Creating a visually interesting and textural element for the collection of rainwater within a living environment.The Designer took advantage of the synergistic effect of the clear top coating over the hot-dip galvanized steel to provide multiple layers of protection that will extend the life of these pieces for decades.