Tuesday, July 21, 2009

More about Bill Elliott

I recently showed you the fantastic stainless steel sculptures Bill Elliott has created and promised you a little more information soon. Well, here it is:
Bill started playing with stainless steel about 27 years ago while working for a research and development firm. They let him have some stainless scraps and he took them home and played with them a bit. Soon he was making some mailboxes, flagpoles and other odds and ends. Folks seemed to like and want them.

Bill says stainless steel used to be considered an exotic metal and was only used for limited applications like dinnerware, cookware, hospital use, etc. As people and manufacturers discovered the strength of the alloy and its corrosion resistance, they found a thousand uses in every industry imaginable. Production ramped up to meet the demand and stainless became readily available.
He started making stainless steel lighthouses about 9 years ago. People liked them and they began to sell. The waterfront community Bill lives in is known as Miller’s Island and his “Miller’s Island Lighthouse” is especially popular in the area.

Recently, Bill began dabbling with marine themed sculptures as he enjoys everything about the Chesapeake Bay and the Ocean. He used to be a commercial diver in Maryland and Louisiana and was an oyster diver on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
His sculptures are large, weighing about 200 lbs., but the size allows him to put more details into his designs.

Stainless is a costly and difficult material to work with, a fact that keeps the prices of Bill’s creations on the higher end.

The Miller’s Island Lighthouse runs $2700, the dolphin statue is $2600 and the “mating Crabs Under Attack” comes in at $3200. The Flower mailbox is $1800 and the smaller Barn mailbox is $450.

The football themed mailbox was $650. The individual Blue Crab was $450 when I saw it, but Bill says the prices on these pieces would need to be higher now due to the cost of the metal and the amount of time it takes to produce them.
The Blue Crab has 38 pieces that need to be cut and welded to get just the right stance for the crustacean.

In talking with Bill, you know he loves his craft as his enthusiasm just bubbles up. He is more than happy to discuss the individual sculptures and thoroughly enjoys people’s reactions to each piece.

Interested in discussing a custom design or ordering from Bill? Contact him at his e-mail address at Elliottfamily00 at Comcast dot com.

1 comment:

Eye Shutter to Think said...

Cool crab - but man, that's a LOT of pieces to weld. Impressive!

Thanks for sharing your photos here.