Steel Calla Lily

I had an idea of making a steel flower series. The first successful flower was a Calla Lily. This one will live in a friend’s garden. These are not going to be exact representations, but a steel semblances of flowers.

I made the Calla Lily out of a heavier gauge of steel than was either necessary or smart. It is actually very difficult to bend cold steel. What I hadn’t thought about was that when you hammer cold steel you are “work hardening” it. Each time you hit the steel with a hammer, it gets harder to bend or shape. Who would have thought? Every blacksmith, metal worker, metallurgist, but not me. So… A forge is in my future. I am building one now out of an old brake drum rotor. That should help with the whole “work hardening” thing. Flowers are VERY curvy, not flat at all. Onward and all that.