By Katie Martin Chase Allen says his artistic abilities are in his genes. “My mother’s side of the family is very artistic,” said the 37-year-old Charlotte, N.C., native. Allen owns and operates The Iron Fish Gallery on Daufuskie Island, S.C. From fish to mermaids, the gallery, which opened in 2001, houses dozens of Allen’s handcrafted […]
Tag Archives: iron fish art
At 14’ x 8’ feet long, the Iron Fish Bones handcrafted sculpture is made of 16-gauge welded scrap iron. Chase originally designed the sculpture as an outdoor installation for his studio on Daufuskie Island, but because it has sparked so much interest among visitors, he decided to design it for a wall instead! The picture […]
We recently came across a relatively new social media network, Houzz, which is taking the interior design industry by storm. Offering a new way to design your home, Houzz allows people to browse thousands of rooms by type, style, color, you name it. It also allows users to search through products that are curated […]
The 2014 Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid, is sweeping the nation, being incorporated into everything from web design to home decor. Although shades of purple don’t typically come to mind when thinking about coastal decor, we’ve come up with a few ways to combine the worlds of Pantone purple and the coast, with […]
Daufuskie Island is a place where life moves at a slower pace. What’s most unique about this island is that there’s no bridge connecting it to the mainland. Accessible only by ferry, Daufuskie is the ultimate spot if you’re looking for a uniquely beautiful getaway. There are no cars, no obnoxious crowds to fight through, […]
Coastal Conservation Association and The Iron Fish Gallery sculpts a great fund raising partnership!
I am proud to say that I have created a respectable collection of “doormat” flounder sculptures for Coastal Conservation Association to auction off for their fundraising events in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. Each metal flounder sculpture measured approximately 29” long and has two signature eyes. Please look for these iron fish sculptures at the Coastal Conservation Association events in Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia. Bid them up past their $225 value because you will get a one of a kind piece of art and you know the money goes to a great organization. About 85 were commissioned for this “corporate order” so enjoy fishing for them.
Many thanks to CCA of Texas, South Carolina, and Georgia for finding value in my handcrafted iron fish art
In September of 1989, I was a 12 year old boy living in Charlotte, NC. I have forgotten the exact date when Hurricane Hugo came smashing into town but I will never forget the event. It was my fathers weekend to have the kids so we were bunked up at his house, about five miles from my mothers house. Mom was out of town that weekend and I remember waking up to the window thrashing open and the sound of loud popping noises. Within minutes of waking up, my dad came in to my room and instructed me to get in the hall way. My sister, dad, and I quickly made a pallet on the floor and I am pretty sure we all sacked out pretty quick. Well, I know my sister and I did.
The next day, we walked out of the house and I swear it was like nothing I had ever seen at that time and I also found out what that popping noise was from the night before. There were more gigantic old oaks laying on the ground then there were standing(this might be a slight exaggeration but not a huge one I promise). There was not 100 yards of passable/drivableto my recollection. Limbs and full trees blocked every direction. We took a walk around to access the damage and ran in to all the neighbors we knew and did not know. Everyone had the same look of disbelief on their face. Charlotte is approximately 200 miles from the coast so this type of a storm was unheard of. Well, from that point on it was kind of cool. No one had power for days so there was essentially just one big block grill out. Restaraunts in certain parts of town were grilling out for 100 people at a time and for free. The food was going to go bad anyways so might as well cook it up and have someone eat it right?
About 4-5 days later, the chainsaw guys had cut enough clearing in the roads to have people get around on a limited basis. Mom finally got back to town so when she arrived, we went to check on the house. Sadly, there was a 100 year old oak laying right in mom’s bedroom. With such a nice sized hole in the roof, the house was totally flooded! We moved back in with mom although the house was essentially condemned. Remember, I was 12 so I was loving the novelty of camping in my own home. To this day I have little memory how the storm effected my mother, father, or sister. All I know is we enjoyed simple pleasures for about three weeks by the light of a loaner gas fired camping lamp. Finally, we moved about three miles away to another small rental house.
Well, years later, I am a sculptor living on a tiny island in the low country of South Carolina. Since Hugo, I spent 4 years in Wilmington, NC from 1995-1999 which was the stormiest four years in NC history. I sat through three more hurricanes in that brief time on the NC coast. All of them were very, very interesting. I sat through all of them and there is nothing like watching and living through a hurricane. However, we all have our first love and Hugo is mine. That storm that caused NC alone approximately 1 billion dollars, was one of the highlights of my childhood. Just wanted to take the time to tell a little bit about the history I personally have with hurricanes in the event you were wondering. This sculpture is dedicated to Hugo.
Click on any photo above to view entire collections of Chase Allen’s sculptures or to watch a video of Chase creating one of his nautical decorations from scratch.
Rooster Art – Large 65” x 65” Back lit sculpture–$3,450-SOLD Sorry everyone, I have gotten many calls on this sculpture so I wanted to announce it has been sold. Please call if you would like to commission me to make you one similar to this “rooster art”. Remember, light it up at night and […]
To view the entire 1st/2nd Winter/Spring Collection, click the photo above or click here.