Benjamin Stielow uses a handheld plasma torch like a scalpel on raw metal to bring his vision into view.

What remains after the sparks fly is a shining cutaway of aspen trees reaching for the sky.

“I just start with a single sheet of steel and draw it ahead of time so I’ve got a really good idea of what it is going to look like,” he said.

“Then I cut it with a plasma torch just a little at a time to create some relief.”

Stielow finishes the job by coloring the trees with patinas and no pigmentation.

The artist from Conifer, Colorado need only walk out his backdoor for inspiration in the aspen grove.

“People ask me sometimes do you make anything besides trees – but my heart’s not there,” he said. “My heart’s in the trees and that energy comes through the work.”

“Energy is everything and that’s true of any artist,” he said.

Stielow’s works can be found in the Fine Art Show at Booth #55 in the purple sidewalk section, or online at http://www.bjamincustoms.com