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Using skills he developed as a graphic designer, artist Dan Moore works strictly with steel. He fabricates his rusted artworks in his garage in Phoenix’s Willo Historic District. “If I’m not designing a piece on the computer or installing something, I’m working outside,” he says. “I have wonderful neighbors who are always interested in what I’m doing.” Opposite: Moore’s first piece, an abstract female figure called “Garden Mother,” was a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, Nina.
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PhGmag.com July 2015
Man of Steel Dan Moore’s weathered metal creations reflect the timeless beauty of the Sonoran Desert By
W
Rebecca L. Rhoades
portrait Photography by
hen Tempe, Ariz., business CubeSmart decided to expand its self-storage facilit y last year, it was required by city ordinance to include a public art installation in the plans. To comply, the company hired Phoenix artist Dan Moore to create jumbo versions of his popular desert-themed steel panels for the building’s exterior. “To date, it is one of my biggest projects, and it was a really great opportunity,” says Moore. “It’s pretty wild that hardly six years ago, I made one of these for my wife as a gift, and now there are seven giant ones on a building in Tempe.” The 3-by-8-foot wall-mount panels, just like his smaller home versions, are made from 0.125-inch steel sheets. Stylized botanical images of local flora, such as agaves, saguaros, bear grass and desert willow, are cut by water jet and then treated with an oxidizing agent to encourage both rust and desert-suitable colors. Such activity may now be part of a normal day’s work for Moore, but the path to in-demand metal artist wasn’t always an easy one for the graphic designer. Six years ago this month, he was unemployed and on the verge of losing everything, he says.
Carrie Evans
The Iowa native had moved to Phoenix in 1986 after graduation from the University of Iowa. He designed direct mail catalogs for a major tool manufacturer and later worked for a small family-owned sign company. When the real estate market collapsed in the early 2000s, so did the demand for signs—and for sign designers. But while he was employed, Moore had taught himself how to weld and had learned about water-jet technology. “I thought it could be a really interesting way to extend my graphic design skills to three-dimensions,” he says. So as a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, Nina, he created an abstract female figure he called “Garden Mother.” He followed that with the first of his many botanical panels. “People started asking me if I could make them a gate or a mailbox, just anything, and I thought, well, there could be a market for these,” Moore says. Shortly after he began creating his own artworks, he was offered a part-time job at another sign company. “I knew that if I went to work for them on a part-time basis, it would evolve into a full-time gig. My business was just gaining momentum, and I was at a crossroads,” he recalls. “I could
July 2015 PHGMAG.COM
35
Profile
“I think simple designs are the best,” says Moore, adding, “I do a lot of custom gates.” This gate, for a client in Phoenix, was designed to emulate the rolling Tuscan hillside. It matches a custom fence topper that Moore also created.
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PhGmag.com July 2015
do one of two things: I could take the sure thing and have a fairly guaranteed income during a time when we were in really dire straits, or I could go with what my passion was. So I took a chance.” Today, that 4-foot-tall Picassoesque figure he made for his wife still stands in the couple’s backyard, surrounded by the early botanical panels, a rebar-and-fusedglass ocotillo, rusted-corrugated-metal gates, and a large selection of wind chimes, bird feeders and other decorative objects. These are but a few of the many creations Moore now offers through his business, Oxide Studio. “I like simple names,” he says of his company’s moniker. “It’s kind of like when you name your dog. You want it short and to the point.” Whether he’s making multiples of his simple-yet-hefty chimes or a one-of-kind creation, such as personalized signage (residents of Phoenix’s Willo Historic District will recognize his work from the neighborhood’s identity signs and those of area eatery Oven+Vine, among others), gates, awnings, and even fireplaces and
furniture, one thing remains constant: Moore works exclusively with steel. “It’s tangible,” he explains. “Being a graphic designer, most of what you produce is either in print or on the Web. You can look at it, but you can’t really feel it. There’s no texture to it. Metal goes beyond that. It has a character of its own. Steel is timeless.” It’s also the perfect material for the desert’s unforgiving clime, he relates. “The metal is very conducive to this part of the country. It’s zero-maintenance. You don’t have to paint it. You don’t have to do anything to it. The sun isn’t going to deteriorate it, and age is only going to make it look more interesting,” he says. “I think it’s almost the perfect material. I don’t care if you live in Willo or you live in a multimillion-dollar home in North Scottsdale or Cave Creek, the oxidized steel is going to look like it belongs there.” He adds, “If you can draw it, you can cut it out of steel.” Using steel purchased locally as well as recycled pieces found in sa lva ge ya rds, Moore creates h is designs on a computer. The files are sent
While his botanical panels are always in demand, the bulk of Moore’s projects are custom commissions of all shapes and sizes, such as this wall hanging, an homage to Jax the dog.
July 2015 PHGMAG.COM
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Profile to a water-jet machine—in this case at MarZee Water Jet Services in Phoenix— which cuts the images out of the metal. Just like it sounds, this process uses a high-pressure—upwards of 60,000 PSI— stream of water to slice cleanly through the steel. It also allows Moore to make duplicates of his designs, particularly his botanical panels. “It offers people something that is attractive without being insanely expensive,” he says. Prices range from $75 for an extra-small 6-by-15.5-inch panel to $350 for a large 18-by-47-inch piece. While the panels and chimes (at $80) might be what sell online and at such art shows as the Desert Botanical Garden’s biannual plant sales, the custom commissions—the how-do-I-make-this-a-reality projects—are what really excite Moore artistically. “My favorite kind of job is one that combines a variety of components, from engineering and art to manufacturing and installation,” he says. “What’s nice is that I’ve done so many different things that every week is unique. Every project is different. But I like a challenge.”
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PhGmag.com July 2015
On the web
More ideas at
PHGMAG.COM
Moore designed “Treeptic,” a play on his popular desertthemed panels, for a client in Chandler, Ariz. The olive tree offers the European feel the woman wanted, while the trio of panels represents her three family members.
See Sources.
Using skills he developed as a graphic designer, artist Dan Moore works strictly with steel. He fabricates his rusted artworks in his garage in Phoenix’s Willo Historic District. “If I’m not designing a piece on the computer or installing something, I’m working outside,” he says. “I have wonderful neighbors who are always interested in what I’m doing.” Opposite: Moore’s first piece, an abstract female figure called “Garden Mother,” was a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, Nina.
34
PhGmag.com July 2015
Man of Steel Dan Moore’s weathered metal creations reflect the timeless beauty of the Sonoran Desert By
W
Rebecca L. Rhoades
portrait Photography by
hen Tempe, Ariz., business CubeSmart decided to expand its self-storage facilit y last year, it was required by city ordinance to include a public art installation in the plans. To comply, the company hired Phoenix artist Dan Moore to create jumbo versions of his popular desert-themed steel panels for the building’s exterior. “To date, it is one of my biggest projects, and it was a really great opportunity,” says Moore. “It’s pretty wild that hardly six years ago, I made one of these for my wife as a gift, and now there are seven giant ones on a building in Tempe.” The 3-by-8-foot wall-mount panels, just like his smaller home versions, are made from 0.125-inch steel sheets. Stylized botanical images of local flora, such as agaves, saguaros, bear grass and desert willow, are cut by water jet and then treated with an oxidizing agent to encourage both rust and desert-suitable colors. Such activity may now be part of a normal day’s work for Moore, but the path to in-demand metal artist wasn’t always an easy one for the graphic designer. Six years ago this month, he was unemployed and on the verge of losing everything, he says.
Carrie Evans
The Iowa native had moved to Phoenix in 1986 after graduation from the University of Iowa. He designed direct mail catalogs for a major tool manufacturer and later worked for a small family-owned sign company. When the real estate market collapsed in the early 2000s, so did the demand for signs—and for sign designers. But while he was employed, Moore had taught himself how to weld and had learned about water-jet technology. “I thought it could be a really interesting way to extend my graphic design skills to three-dimensions,” he says. So as a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, Nina, he created an abstract female figure he called “Garden Mother.” He followed that with the first of his many botanical panels. “People started asking me if I could make them a gate or a mailbox, just anything, and I thought, well, there could be a market for these,” Moore says. Shortly after he began creating his own artworks, he was offered a part-time job at another sign company. “I knew that if I went to work for them on a part-time basis, it would evolve into a full-time gig. My business was just gaining momentum, and I was at a crossroads,” he recalls. “I could
July 2015 PHGMAG.COM
35
Profile
“I think simple designs are the best,” says Moore, adding, “I do a lot of custom gates.” This gate, for a client in Phoenix, was designed to emulate the rolling Tuscan hillside. It matches a custom fence topper that Moore also created.
36
PhGmag.com July 2015
do one of two things: I could take the sure thing and have a fairly guaranteed income during a time when we were in really dire straits, or I could go with what my passion was. So I took a chance.” Today, that 4-foot-tall Picassoesque figure he made for his wife still stands in the couple’s backyard, surrounded by the early botanical panels, a rebar-and-fusedglass ocotillo, rusted-corrugated-metal gates, and a large selection of wind chimes, bird feeders and other decorative objects. These are but a few of the many creations Moore now offers through his business, Oxide Studio. “I like simple names,” he says of his company’s moniker. “It’s kind of like when you name your dog. You want it short and to the point.” Whether he’s making multiples of his simple-yet-hefty chimes or a one-of-kind creation, such as personalized signage (residents of Phoenix’s Willo Historic District will recognize his work from the neighborhood’s identity signs and those of area eatery Oven+Vine, among others), gates, awnings, and even fireplaces and
furniture, one thing remains constant: Moore works exclusively with steel. “It’s tangible,” he explains. “Being a graphic designer, most of what you produce is either in print or on the Web. You can look at it, but you can’t really feel it. There’s no texture to it. Metal goes beyond that. It has a character of its own. Steel is timeless.” It’s also the perfect material for the desert’s unforgiving clime, he relates. “The metal is very conducive to this part of the country. It’s zero-maintenance. You don’t have to paint it. You don’t have to do anything to it. The sun isn’t going to deteriorate it, and age is only going to make it look more interesting,” he says. “I think it’s almost the perfect material. I don’t care if you live in Willo or you live in a multimillion-dollar home in North Scottsdale or Cave Creek, the oxidized steel is going to look like it belongs there.” He adds, “If you can draw it, you can cut it out of steel.” Using steel purchased locally as well as recycled pieces found in sa lva ge ya rds, Moore creates h is designs on a computer. The files are sent
While his botanical panels are always in demand, the bulk of Moore’s projects are custom commissions of all shapes and sizes, such as this wall hanging, an homage to Jax the dog.
July 2015 PHGMAG.COM
37
Profile to a water-jet machine—in this case at MarZee Water Jet Services in Phoenix— which cuts the images out of the metal. Just like it sounds, this process uses a high-pressure—upwards of 60,000 PSI— stream of water to slice cleanly through the steel. It also allows Moore to make duplicates of his designs, particularly his botanical panels. “It offers people something that is attractive without being insanely expensive,” he says. Prices range from $75 for an extra-small 6-by-15.5-inch panel to $350 for a large 18-by-47-inch piece. While the panels and chimes (at $80) might be what sell online and at such art shows as the Desert Botanical Garden’s biannual plant sales, the custom commissions—the how-do-I-make-this-a-reality projects—are what really excite Moore artistically. “My favorite kind of job is one that combines a variety of components, from engineering and art to manufacturing and installation,” he says. “What’s nice is that I’ve done so many different things that every week is unique. Every project is different. But I like a challenge.”
38
PhGmag.com July 2015
On the web
More ideas at
PHGMAG.COM
Moore designed “Treeptic,” a play on his popular desertthemed panels, for a client in Chandler, Ariz. The olive tree offers the European feel the woman wanted, while the trio of panels represents her three family members.
See Sources.
