About the Item

Puffy Black Heart with Arrow

2026

A big puffy heart made of black steel. This hollow black steel heart is crafted by hand using the inflated steel technique. A heart shape is cut flat in sheet steel, welded together around the border, then heated to orange hot in a blacksmith forge. Once the steel heart is glowing tangerine white orange hot, it is immediately inflated using compressed air. The soft steel sheet puffs out like a balloon, shooting black scale everywhere and creating this unique puffy heart shape with a bespoke black oxide finish. This version of the steel heart sculpture also has a black bar stock heart welded right through the center. The surface of this big puffy heart is a raw, inconsistent sooty scale that is not sealed and changes over time. Each puffy heart is made similarly but each heart has a unique surface and is one of a kind. Two steel rings are welded on the back so this puffy heart easily hangs on your wall with only two screws.

Heart: 9" x 8" x 4"

Arrow: 14" long

About the Artist

"Hi! I'm Sarah. I am a contemporary studio jeweler and sculptor.

I received my Master of Fine Arts with a focus in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Crafts Materials Studies and Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University.

My limited production jewelry and sculpture can be found in galleries across America. I live in Chicago where I work as a studio artist, metals instructor and mom.

My work investigates how female identity is constructed and performed through the body.

The female body is site and content for my work and yields series in sculpture, drawing and limited-production jewelry. I source and celebrate imagery and histories of women that rebel against cultural expectation of the submissive female. Working inside this contested space I use traditional and non-traditional craft techniques to challenge these expectations by creating a role reversal through material."

holdenmetalsmithingcompanyshop.com

@holdensc

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