Stile di Famiglia

eligius1427 - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 9:53am

Hi all, here is some picts and info on the fork sculpture which got installed at the beginning of may.

Stile di Famiglia (Family Style)

After being short listed for this sculpture call in the Towns Little Italy development in Omaha NE, we were asked to come up with proposals that were distinctly Italian and represented the feel for the neighborhood, which seemed very fun, friendly, and in some ways close to each other, much like a family. I kept coming back to the idea of a big Italian family sitting around a table eating dinner, everyone talking about their life or how their week went, laughing and enjoying the company.

With this in mind I went down to one of our local Italian restaurants for some research/inspiration and as I was eating my favorite pasta dish there I looked down and caught myself twirling my pasta around my fork and instantly knew that this would make a fun and dynamic sculpture that would represent both the Italian heritage and the playfulness of the neighborhood as well as pay homage to the Italian restaurant that used to occupy the lot.

During the design phase, I kept thinking that “Bon Appetit” would be a great name for the sculpture. I imagined looking down a table of friends enjoying a meal together and saying “Enjoy, have a great evening!”, but that wasn’t going to fly since it is French so I started looking for an Italian phrase that conveyed the same idea. I finally decided on “Stile di Famiglia” or “Family Style” which is in reference to a restaurant serving style where food is served to guests in the same way you would at a big family dinner. I feel it represents the vibe of both the neighborhood and sculpture wonderfully and gives a nice nod to the Italian heritage in both the language and meaning.

The fork consists of a 304 Stainless Steel structure made from 3/8" plate and heavy tubing sheathed with 14ga 304 stainless steel sheet metal. The spaghetti is 1-1/2" sched 40 304 stainless steel pipe formed using a JD squared tubing bender. We put a brushed finish on the fork and had the spaghetti sandblasted for contrast.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

Stile di Famiglia 1

Stile di Famiglia 2

Stile di Famiglia 3

Stile di Famiglia 4

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Mangia

Frank Castiglione - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 10:27am

Hi Jake,
You made me hungry! As Mamma Grande would say to us "Mangia", eat,eat...
Your sculpture is wonderful.
Frank

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Thanks Frank Jake

eligius1427 - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 10:35am

Thanks Frank

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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outstanding

visitor - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 11:29am

Jake that is one heck of a sculpture! I will have to drive by and check it out up close.

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Thanks, it looks better up

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:26am

Thanks, it looks better up close. Let me know what you think.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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pasketti

Stephen Fitz-Gerald - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 6:37pm

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Damn Jake,that's great!
I especially like the noodles,in context next to the fork it really reads well as spaghetti.
Claes Oldenburg,eat your heart out...

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Jake, I think you went the

don johnson - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 7:15pm

Jake, I think you went the extra mile to putting yourself as a customer and thinking what should work. The sculpture clearly suggests that. A job well done. Maybe a little more sauce on the spaghetti?

I can only emagine working on that scale.

Don

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Just pasta?

Daedalus - Friday, May 28, 2010 - 7:51pm

What,no meatballs?

Great work Jake.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is.

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Thanks Daedalus. As I think

visitor - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 5:51pm

Thanks Daedalus. As I think I replied to Rich, originally there was talk of meatballs, just not enough room or budget. Would have been fun though.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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After seeing the finished piece

Daedalus - Monday, June 7, 2010 - 8:14am

I can imagine that if anybody can make a high quality stainless steel meatball on a larger than life scale it would be you,Jake!
That pasta is just incredible.I`ve spent enough hours wrestling both stainless and tubing to know how tough that was to pull off to where it looks right.This really does.
Much respect for both your talent and craftsmanship.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is.

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Thanks Don, Although

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:28am

Thanks Don, Although sometimes too much input can be counter productive, I find getting feedback from the neighborhood during the design phase often times leads to good results.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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Fantastic job!

dowpat - Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 12:04am

I just did my first bent tubing job; it was just a large simple bend in mild steel. I do not envy you having to do what you did so tight around the fork and in stainless no less. I hope the customer and the town’s people realize what a great job you have done.

Pat

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Thanks Dowpat, That bender i

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:30am

Thanks Dowpat, That bender i used rocked and after a little practice it was pretty easy to calculate where to put the bend.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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Congrats, Jake. Looks

visitor - Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 6:50am

Congrats, Jake.
Looks WONDERFUL installed. I'm sure it will become a local landmark. I can hear em now.........I'll meet ya by the FORK in the road.

Bill Roberts

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Thanks Bill, funny enough I

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:30am

Thanks Bill, funny enough I almost named it that.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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The spaghetti is remarkable!

marilyn - Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 1:23pm

The spaghetti is remarkable! Great job of translating a starch into metal.

marilyn

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Thanks Marilyn! Jake Jake

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:31am

Thanks Marilyn!

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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Really cool job, Jake! That

Rich Waugh - Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 8:01pm

Really cool job, Jake! That thing is destined to become a landmark. Not much more you can ask of a public piece than that, is there? Congratulations on a great concept and a masterful execution.

How long d'ya think before some wit (or half thereof) decides to add a large meatball?

Rich

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Thanks Rich, I was

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:33am

Thanks Rich, I was considering a meatball and a spoon at the beginning of the design phase, but the plot of land that it was going on was very small and between that and the budget it just wasn't feasible. I thought it would have been a neat contrast to have the brushed stainless fork, blasted stainless spaghetti, and rusting steel meatball. There's always next time, lol.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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Very cool work

Lynda Metcalfe - Saturday, May 29, 2010 - 8:40pm

Awesome piece Jake, very dynamic - thanks for mentioning the name of the tube bender and the specs on the pipe too - did you bend the pipe cold or hot?

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I love it! Well

visitor - Sunday, May 30, 2010 - 12:13am

I love it! Well proportioned. Would love to see it in person!
Fred

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Thanks Lynda, The pipe was

eligius1427 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - 10:35am

Thanks Lynda, The pipe was bent cold. Bending it was kind of creepy at first, i thought the bender pins would break but it just muscled through it.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE

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