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The Madagascar Fish Eagle ("Ny Voromahery Trondo" in the Madagascar language), is the most highly-endangered eagle in the world. In this art piece, I wanted to demonstrate the beauty of this animal and also draw attention to its endangered state. I welded the sculpture together from scrap metal and metal tableware. I began by making the wings from a broken wind catcher, with knives between the wind catcher fins. Then I welded the tail feathers from the left-over knives. After this, I broke the handles off of the forks and spoons, and welded the back of the eagle from them. I then welded the belly using the ends of the spoons, and afterward, I made the head, neck and shoulders from the fork ends. At this point, I was able to attach the wings to the body. To make the eyes, I used nuts, and then forged the beak from scrap rebar. I made the talons from rebar as well, welding them onto the belly of the eagle. I used a high-grit, dremel tool bit to polish the metal and remove any flux which remained from the welds. I then sat the entire sculpture on a wooden base, which I stained and clear-coated.
