Arc de Triomphe

Aaron Braham uses his artistic licence to create memories

He insists that he is not an artist, but a welder. His experience includes more than 30 years in the welding trade and he is shop manager with Blue Streak Welding. Yet Aaron Braham is using his specialized skills to create works of art in metal.

The Airdrie man’s artistic pursuits began about two years ago, when a friend asked to store his plasma cutting table in Braham’s shop. Experimenting with the technology that uses a computer and a plasma torch to cleanly cut metal, he began to give free rein to his imagination.

“I taught myself how to use [the plasma table] … and it’s just blossomed from there,” Braham says.

His creations run the gamut from personalized fire pits (his favourite) and garden decorations to benches, signs and clocks. He attributes his success to the Torchmate computer program that allows him to use clipart. “Any clipart I can convert and put into [the project],” he says. “It’s very, very simple.

“I’m not an artist, I’ll be the first to admit that,” he adds.

While a rarified few specialists work in hand-forged wrought iron, that particular skill takes an incredible amount of expertise, Braham says, so he is content to work with plate steel or tubing. And it’s all a case of learning as he goes along.

“It’s nice, it’s interesting, it’s something different,” he says.

When it comes to his personal- ized designs, it can sometimes be hit or miss, as Braham has to do things over and over again, experimenting, perfecting. The most difficult part is getting the plasma table to cut fine designs and he often has to go back and start from scratch. “I go through more metal from waste,” he laughs.

However, with practice comes maybe not perfection but experience.

“As I do it I learn more and more,” he says.“I’m having a blast.”

Since his first experiments, Braham has come a long way. He now feels confident enough to sketch out his own pictures rather than relying solely on clipart, although he sometimes begins with clipart and develops his art from there, drawing on a variety of ideas and illustrations. Seeing images actually take shape and his work come to fruition is exciting.

“It amazes me,” he says. “I really enjoy the end result.”

All in all, Braham’s experience with art has changed his perspectives of life. “Now I’m to the point where I’m looking at stuff differently,” he says.

“That’s cool.”

Having lived in Airdrie since 1979, Braham’s ties to the community run deep. Along with affiliations with the Airdrie Pro Rodeo, the Calgary Police Rodeo and the Airdrie and District Agricultural Society, he also served as a volunteer firefighter with Airdrie Emergency Services for 17 years. Many of his designs come from his own life experience over the years – from fishing to rodeo to history.

“Most of my stuff is … western,” he says, “[but] I’ll do basically anything.”

Some of his most fulfilling projects have been those dedicated to special people and events. He fabricated five benches for the Alberta 55 Plus Games, has created memorial pieces for local families and is currently working on a bench to commemorate his father.

As for marketing his wares, Braham has relied mostly on word-of-mouth. His aunt in Edmonton sells his garden products and he attends the local farmers market, as well as the Home and Garden Show. Despite his low-profile approach, though, word is getting out about his work and his name is becoming known outside of the community. “I’ve got a fire pit as far east as … Ontario,” he says.

While he would pursue his art full time if he could, Braham is content for now to continue perfecting his skills and evolving as an artist in whatever time is available. Does he have any words of advice for other welders with an artistic bent?“Go to school, go be a doctor,” Braham laughs.

Seriously, though, he says, taking a CAD (computer-aided design) course would be a great start for anyone interested in pursuing the arts side of the metal craft. He himself would like to know more about the potential and possibilities with his computer program, but at this point he doesn’t have enough time to devote to learning more about it.

“There’s stuff on that computer program that I’ll never, never know about,” Braham says.

But, he adds, one is never too old to learn and art, as with life, is a work in progress. For Braham, taking his welding trade in a whole new direction has brought with it both challenges and self-fulfilment. From where he was 30 years ago to today, he has come a long way.

“I’m pretty happy at what’s happened,” he says.

And while he keeps claiming he’s not an artist, Braham is using his experience, skill and imagination to bring his visions to life. If that’s not art, what is? life