Locksmith-turned-sculptor wows locals with his work
Karel Raab trained as a locksmith in view of taking over the family firm, but his yearning to create art was stronger. He started out by creating small pieces for his garden in his spare time. They soon got noticed and enabled him to turn his hobby into a thriving business.
When his friends were considering what path in life they wanted to follow, Karel Raab had his future pretty much settled. It was clear that he would one day take over the family firm and follow in his father’s footsteps. But his natural inclination soon led him elsewhere.
“I trained as a locksmith and for a time, I worked in the family business. But it was not fulfilling. I was always tempted to create something original. And that's when I began to discover the magic of working with raw metal. The beginnings were difficult because I am self-taught, but over time I began to unravel all the mysteries of molding metal and fell in love with the work. Recently I added wood to my creations. I enjoy combining wood with metal and interconnecting the two raw materials. So from being a locksmith I got to a point where I am really doing what I love.”
The way it started out was that Karel started making art pieces for his garden in his spare time, just as an outlet for his creative talent. People walking by soon noticed and gradually he built up a clientele. Now he is enjoying his first proper outdoor exhibition. The nearby town of Horní Bečva is showcasing his work in the vicinity of the local school building.
The most impressive of the nine metal sculptures on show is the statue of a kneeling angel, its wings protectively spread around something on the ground.
“The wings are made of raw sheets – one to two millimeters thick - which I then cut into blades and molded so that they resemble the individual feathers on a wing.”
The outsize statue attracts plenty of admirers and even drivers passing by slow down to see it better. Equally impressive is the statue of Venus in a gymnastics pose, made of discarded bits of metal.
“The statue of Venus is two and a half meters high and it is made of thousands of discarded metal parts – including keys, bolts and nuts and even pieces of cutlery – which I cleaned up and forged together. It took me four months to make, working from morning till night, seven days a week.”
Karel Raab says he is delighted with the attention the statues are getting and says they could not have been better placed.
“The space is big enough to make the statues stand out and I think that placing them near a school is a grand idea because it is a good way of introducing teenagers to art.”
The sculptures will be on display until June 8, 2024.
