This week's blog post features an artist and his amazing work which we instantly took a liking to. It was interesting how our paths crossed during an uneventful evening cruising social media, where we came across an Instagram post of this "gothic graveyard" (pictured above). Clicking through the profile, we discovered many other images we liked so we contacted the owner, Dwayne of Fire and Ice Custom Art.
Unbeknownst to us, Dwayne was a fan of our new round, The Temptation of the Succubus and was already planning to do some custom artwork on it (we will have more to follow on this later). From this shared interest, we have developed a working relationship and are proud to be spotlighting Fire & Ice Custom Art this week.
Fire and Ice Custom Art spawned from a hobby; a labour of love fuelled by passion. At first, pieces were done for friends and family, but as time went on Dwayne was contacted by more and more folks for custom, one-of-a-kind pieces. Soon, what once started out as a hobby has grown into a small business, creating masterpieces by hand -one piece at a time.
Dwayne's approach to art and design is unique in that, when he sees an object or coin/round that inspires him, he is immediately able to envision a final product. From this vision, he works backwards, deconstructing the project in steps to achieve the desired artwork.
Coin art and jewellery are something he really enjoys doing and is amazingly skilled at. Using nothing more than his imagination and a jewellers piercing saw, he is able to cut out the image with surgical precision. From here, it's all artistic creativity. He applies black Rhodium or selective gold plating to highlight certain features, and uses hammered copper or wire to emphasize other areas, and also uses gemstones as accents. It is truly a pleasure to see the transformation of a project from start to finish.
"I can never improve the designs on the coins, but I love to highlight them and help bring out the important features to make the whole piece tie together. I love detailed work, and it doesn't get much more detailed than doing miniature sculptures from coins and making sure everything flows."
It's an interesting story of how Dwayne followed his passion for silver art. He's been a coin collector since childhood. Growing up he would watch his Dad collecting coins which got him into it. His father would go through his pocket change every day, and every now and then he would get some silver coins. As a child, Dwayne always wondered why his father would get so excited by this. A few years later, he started to research silver coins and realized the importance of silver and gold, and how silver is a great way to keep up with inflation and store some wealth.
He began collecting silver one ounce bullion coins; at first, Canadian Maple Leafs and American Eagles. Then, it progressed to the bullion of Australia, Europe, China and many other places. Eventually, he was collecting in a numismatic fashion where the coin price vs spot price became less of a factor; if he liked it, he bought it.
Not long after this he discovered the semi-numismatic private market, where he has found a few small mints with outstanding artwork. Then one day, he had an idea....combining his coin cutting and artwork with these great coins...which brings us to the here and now.
We are looking forward to our very own creation done my Fire and Ice Custom Art on our Temptation of the Succubus round. The final design has been kept secret except that there will be some black rhodium and gold plating. This will be revealed in an upcoming unboxing video by Pheli Mint. We are really excited for this piece and can't wait to see it in hand! We would like to thank Dwayne for his support and absolutely astonishing artwork.
Dwayne is also working on a much bigger Succubus project to include an even more elaborate design, which he will reveal when completed. I know we will be keeping an eye out for updates on this one!
If you would like to view more artwork or connect with Dwayne, check out the links below to his website, Facebook, and Instagram pages:
Fire & Ice Custom Art Website
Fire & Ice Custom Art Facebook
Fire & Ice Custom Art Instagram
I have a few of his pieces… Absolutely amazing!! He made a set of dragon earnings for my wife too!!
Big fan of Dwaynes work. Wish him all the success in the world for his ventures! Incredible how he can cut these coins with such a precision and turn them into something magical!
I am feeling like such a rookie right now. Wonderful,wonderful work my friends !……Dean……
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The reverse of this coin bears a image of a seductive, tempting Succubus.
The succubus coin is much more than just a cool image of a pretty girl (although it certainly is). The succubus image has a much deeper and metaphorical meaning to us. It represents the struggle against any form of alluring temptation that may be wrapped in a seductive package but could ultimately lead to your demise.
In traditional folklore the succubus was a beautiful seductive demon who would seduce men, once these men were seduced their health would deteriorate and they would ultimately die. It's possible you could relate to a relationship of this nature where a partner was slowly drawing the life out of you, but on an even deeper level we feel the temptation and deteriorating effects can apply to so many aspects of one's life, not only relationships.
We also feel the succubus can serve as a constant reminder to understand the deeper meaning of anything and ensure we are not blinded by it's beauty or allure.
Lastly we also draw great strength knowing we have overcome challenges and temptations in our lives to breed character and form our personalities. This ultimately led us to our first release titled "Temptation of the Succubus"
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Fran
April 24, 2017
Dwayne’s work is amazing. I commissioned a piece for my husband, and he was blown away with the finished product. We continue to follow Dwayne’s work, which is continually evolving. He is becoming quite a master at his craft!