About David Borrus

By day, welding is the skill I have used to earn a living. My welds must conform to the straight lines and right angles of I-beams and concrete. Often I am so focused on the fierce tip of the electrode that I fail to notice the magnificent human and mechanical symphony of the jobsite happening all around me.

At night in my studio, I can weld figures that express the complex curves and stances of daily life. Using literally the same materials as on the jobsite (scrap pieces of steel reinforcing bars), I can work my gas torch to create musculature, instruments, and motion. Essentially, I layer beads of molten steel in the same way that clay is built up in modeling sculpture. Later I use a series of grinders to carve, shape, and finish each piece.

Over the past 28 years I have tried other mediums, but I enjoy working in steel and bronze the best. The internal strength of these materials allows me to capture that instant when a musician is bent over backwards to reach a high note in the “midnight ramble” or a gymnast swerving and twisting on the pommel horse.

I also continue to work in steel and bronze because I really enjoy the welding. I like the “arcing and sparking” of the grinders and electrodes, and the smooth patterns of the orange liquid metal as it follows the blue tip of my torch.

I began welding steel sculptures as a teenager, and my works include dancers, musicians, construction workers, athletes, and Judaica. Many pieces are now available as limited edition bronze castings. These galleries are currently showing my work: L' Attitude Gallery - 218 Newbury Street, Boston MA;  Sharon Arts - Peterborough, NH;  North Wind Craftsmen - North Conway, NH;  The Tao Water Gallery - West Barnstable, MA.

The Arava is the sandy plain of Israel’s Southern Negev Desert, stretching from the Dead Sea to the port of Elat . I lived and worked as a welder on a kibbutz there for three years. I later earned a degree in marine biology, and worked as a commercial diver, marine welder, and pile driver on Boston’s “Big Dig” project. I now work as a representative for Pile Drivers and Divers Local 56 in Boston.

My wife Amy and I and our two sons, Sam and Gabriel, live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

phone/fax 617 547-0720, david@davidborrus.com