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Tom Gingras has been dancing with the flame for thirty-five years as a sculptor in metal art and taught at Austin Community College since 1988. Tom has been unofficially the departmental director of the Art Metals Program at ACC and served as Department Chair of the Welding Department from fall 2003 until the fall of 2006. As ACC’s first teacher in “Art Metals”, Tom was in on the ground floor with then newly appointed Department Head, Warren Donworth, in co-authoring what has become a nationally and inter-nationally recognized and prestigious program offering degree plans in Metalsmithing and Metal Sculpture. The equally unique Jewelry Fabrication program, which was initially an art metals offering, has become its own separate department.

Tom wrote and published his first book, The Art of Welded Sculpture. (Kendall Hunt Publishing) during his sabbatical leave granted by Austin Community College in 2000 charged also with furthering his metal smithing and TIG welding skills while nurturing his creative spirit. During this sabbatical leave Tom also began a major commission piece in stainless steel entitled Angel Dance, a 12 ft. tall pair of angels which was subsequently installed suspended in an 18’ high stairwell in a home in West Lake Hills.

Tom’s mastery of welded sculpture has been demonstrated in his speculative work and commission pieces for many years and is beautifully and masterfully displayed in his commission piece, the extraordinary dragon entitled Sevenheart, shown by courtesy of its owner who resides on Lake Travis.