Well I considered selling it on the shop, so I took it down and flipped it over to see who made it and do some research.
I found a small round sticker on the back the same as the top one below, so enter Google.
I discover it was made by this dude, Mark Weinstein back in the 70's...
They had a downloadable brochure on the site from 1974 that showcased his collection...
Anybody else have anything that looks remotely familiar to this stuff? Do share!
And HELLO! There is my piece turned sideways above. Hi Topaz, nice to meet you. Lovely name you have there.
He does some amazing pieces, and was considered a Brutalist. He started off working at his father's scrap yard out of high school and found tons of inspiration there. He learned welding and started making sculptures and started his company Marc Creates in 1967.
It is now run mostly by his two sons, and they are remaking his original pieces. The new pieces have the marking below the sticker above and the bigger ones retail around $1000, and his original works have the sticker. I found some of his original collection on 1st Dibs...
I know these prices are way inflated and all, but I did the happy dance and had an" almost peed my pants moment" regardless. I 'd hug the thing, but I'd cut the crap out myself doing so.
I think I'm keeping this one. Unless of course some rich Mark Weinstein collector would like to add "Topaz" to their collection for a fair price. call me ;)
I'm off to act like an idiot & feel all smug and proud of myself for buying crap. xo
