Artisan

KIMBERLY MACARTHUR GRAHAM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATE RUSSELL

>>> Diego Velazquez, Santa Fe Metal Design, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Diego Velazquez at work in his studio.

The strong and sensual lighting fixtures offered by Santa Fe Metal Design glow with life. Founder Diego Velazquez still oversees every step involved in creating each one, from dreaming up a new sculptural form to hand-applying a rich patina that can range from blood red to mossy green.

Though polite and well-spoken, Velazquez would rather be making art than talking about it. He is most hesitant to talk about himself. When pressed about his background, he starts with, "I took wood and metal shop through high school." Oh, and his father is a painter and metal sculptor. At "19 or 20 years old, I just started making artwork. I got into sculptural sheet metal."

A consummate artist, Velazquez is a habitual sketcher whose close and constant observations of the natural world often inspire his lighting designs. "It's hard to explain the process," he says of the journey from seeing to making. "It comes from being creative. You look at something in a whole different way. Walking down the street, you see something, like how a leaf curls around, but then it turns into something altogether different." Perhaps this is how he conceived of his 3-Tier Scalloped Sconce, a gently rolled beacon akin to a dried leaf, or Feather Sconce, a graceful creation that hints at autumnal flight.

Velazquez began creating light fixtures not for any "practical" reasons, but because he found light itself to be an intriguing variable. "I was attracted to lighting — not just [fixture] design, but the interaction of it with light. The light is a whole other element." Most of his fixtures have reveals or cutouts that allow the light to spill around edges and play over carefully worked surfaces. Though some designs may have a "split second" inspiration, all of them require countless hours to perfect. Velazquez works out issues of design and function during a sometimes prolonged prototype stage. "It is so great the first time I light it up," he says.

Alluring and organic, Velazquez' surfaces alone would attract attention. Painstakingly done by hand, each patina requires a different recipe of skill and knowledge — and each is unique. Some are torched, while others are cold finishes. Many are ancient techniques. "I do everything myself," says Velazquez, who founded his studio in 2000. "You can teach 10 people to patina, but they'll all do it differently. I'm very particular about the finish; other people will think a piece is finished and I'll go back and redo it. It has to look right to me, to be balanced."

This dedication to perfection has paid off. Santa Fe Metal Design is not only busy designing lighting for far-flung clients, but Velazquez is excited to be creating custom work and adding more sculptural and functional illuminated pieces to his oeuvre.

He completes a large amount of custom work, finding challenge and satisfaction in matching a project's specific needs to his skills and artistic eye. "Some projects have more freedom and some less," he says pragmatically, "but I like them all. At the time, whatever you're doing is your favorite, then you move on to the next."

A rustic patina adds depth to this tapered pendant.

A current favorite project is a sculptural installation of what Velazquez describes as a "giant" (four-foot-tall) version of his Page Sconce on a client's swank patio. Drawing upon his sculptural savvy, he's re-imagining the piece in larger dimensions and fabricating it to last as outdoor art.

His excellent work has earned him recognition among designers and architects. "People see my lights and they know immediately from the style and design that they're mine," Velazquez says with quiet amazement. "Some people even recognize my patina." Recently, a designer simply showed up, left a deposit and asked him to start work — no parameters other than it be something wonderful.

And wonderful is something Velazquez does well. "Artistically, the piece has to say something; it has to have magic," he says. Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, "Functionally, too, I'm pretty picky."

Santa Fe Metal Design, 2811 Siler Lane, Ste. 2, Santa Fe, NM 87505; (505) 438-3857 or www.santafemetal.com.