AllPropellersSpin

I love making things ... especially things out of metal ... most especially SteamPunk things out of metal.

As a young man I had the good fortune to study under Richard Stankiewicz - one of Americas’ leading sculptors and one of the inventors of steel assembly sculpture. From him I learned the value of composition and techniques for achieving quality composition in three dimensional art; also, the importance of getting-it-RIGHT. Under his guidance I earned a MA from the State U of NY at Albany. Later I earned a MFA from the State U of NY at New Paltz.

The other great influence on my work was my father, James Author Schwabe. As a boy I learned both traditional jewelry making techniques and special techniques that he invented for working in pewter. Many of the production pieces that I worked on in my fathers shop became Cartier, NY product (among other high end jewelry & department stores). Again, quality was the hallmark of the work environment.

To this, add deep Sci Fi roots; especially Star Wars and Star Trek. In the 1990’s I was asked to sculpt miniature versions of many Star Wars “vehicles”. Works included the Millennium Falcon, the X Wing fighter, the Death Star and many more. These sculptures were used as “masters” for the production of pewter miniatures manufactured by Rawcliffe Pewter under license from Lucas Film. I was twice invited to Skywalker Ranch to meet with Lucas Film staff to discuss his work. I also sculpted many Star Trek pieces for Rawcliffe. As part of making Star Wars & Star Trek product, I made my own tools - special tools that would allow me to do the highly detailed work required by the producers of Star Wars & Star Trek. Today, I use these same tools to when I make my SteamPunk designs.

I discovered SteamPunk in 2008. Credit “Winona Cookie” ... it was seeing her detailed shadow box constructions and reading the wonderful stories that accompanied them that got me hooked on the genre.

In the few years since I first discovered SteamPunk I have created many memorable pieces and achieved significant recognition. I was part of the groundbreaking “Steampunkinneticks” exhibit at the AFA Gallery in NYC, also part of the major SteamPunk exhibit at The Shelburne Museum in VT. I have participated in 6 SteamPunk Worlds Fairs (NJ), 4 of the incarnations of the “Watch City Steampunk Festival” (near Boston), 4 Steamcons (Seattle) and once at Teslacon (Madison WI); as well as a number of smaller SteamPunk Exhibitions and Conventions.

I AM an exhibit in The Steampunk Museum, an online museum “Exhibiting the inspirational people, events & Artifacts of the Steampunk community” (click on the "shop blog" link to visit the museum).

I look forward to continuing to make the highest quality SteamPunk jewelry & sculpture. Please consider making a purchase - providing you with a SteamPunk piece of the highest quality, AND helping me continue with this most noble endeavor.

Disclosure - I often ask someone else to make multiple castings of a component that I have hand crafted. I then add more hand crafted parts to those components to create completed pieces. All pieces in this shop bear my signature and ©.