Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Artist or a welder? Don't make him pick

By CHRIS MOORE
Published January 7, 2007

The brighter-than-the-sun white lights firing from the TIG torches in Steve Aretz's welding shop catch your eye when you first walk in.

Machines with rollers and big wheels that bend steel rods with the slightest of ease also grab your attention. And you can't miss Elwood, a massive brown and white American bulldog that immediately wants to introduce himself to you.

Be careful, though. Don't stare at those ultraviolet rays, or you'll end up with scorched retinas. And all of those machines - avoid them, too. The metal they shape likely was just in a molten state with temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for Elwood, he's all right. The worst he'll do is attack you with big, wet, slurpy dog kisses or give you a vigorous lashing from his overjoyed tail.

Aretz owns Hot Shot Welding. His business specializes in decorative work for homes and businesses, focusing on railings and elaborately designed staircases.

Looking at some of his works in progress, including an elegant floating grand staircase, you might wonder if he is a welder moonlighting as an artist, or vice versa.

Aretz will tell you he's both.

"I like to view concepts in a three-dimensional perspective. I'm able to visualize what a client wants and make it come to life. I think that's where the artistry of my work comes into play."

Hot Shot takes on projects big and small, ordinary and complex. The company started in 1991 with just Aretz and has grown to 15 employees.

The company's work is all around the Tampa Bay area, and its clientele is noteworthy.

Ever notice the structural welding work on the air traffic control tower at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport? Hot Shot did that. And the lavish contemporary staircases and railings found in former Buccaneer Keyshawn Johnson's old house on Harbour Island in Tampa, and Hooters' new corporate offices in Clearwater? The company did those, too.

Simple railings for balconies and walkways are on display at numerous beach condos, and one-of-a-kind light fixtures, mailboxes and door frames are showcased at local nightclubs and private residences.

Employees say Aretz clearly is the brains of the bunch, and they've nicknamed him the "boy genius," after a TV character.

The boy genius artisan welder may have just completed his masterpiece.

Aretz teamed with Hennessey Construction Services to renovate the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

Mark McClearnon, senior project superintendent with Hennessey, accepted Aretz's bid to re-create the monumental staircase and other columns and fixtures throughout the theater.

The Mahaffey is known for its magnificent architecture and spectacular views of Tampa Bay, McClearnon said, and Aretz had the daunting task of seamlessly interjecting new construction into a theater that has stood since 1965.

But McClearnon and officials from St. Petersburg's Capital Improvement Department agreed that the welder's work was phenomenal.

"I guess the biggest compliment I can pay him is to say how remarkably photogenic his work is. To me, that really says a lot," McClearnon said.

"His challenge was to match the existing metal work, which was very intricate, and Aretz did an outstanding job," said Meg Lashley, capital improvement manager for the city, which owns the theater.

The work of the 38-year-old proud father of three from Seminole isn't limited to railings and extravagant staircases.

Since childhood, he has been looking for ways to let out his innate artistic abilities. Aretz, whose mother attended art school, also explores other forms of artistic welding, including constructing monuments and religious crosses.

A few years ago, Aretz's 16-year-old cousin from New Jersey died tragically in a car crash. Saddened by his family's loss, he searched for a way to honor and celebrate her life.

A monument he and other artists created in Tampa about six years ago that memorializes Florida highway patrolmen killed in the line of duty served as his inspiration.

Aretz is in the design phase of an angelic bust of his departed cousin. When complete, the piece will serve as a shrine to her and be planted in the family's backyard garden.

The First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin also displays a bronze Celtic cross by Aretz. John C. Smith of Largo and other church members donated the cross to the church to commemorate the memory of John's wife of more than 50 years, Barbara Polley Smith, a devoted church member who died a few years ago.

To make sure the cross was ready for the memorial service, Aretz said, he worked alone in the shop until midnight every night for two weeks.

Phil Santmyer, a sales associate for Hot Shot, said Aretz's bighearted actions with employees, their families and clients show that he is not only a good man but "even a step further than that. He's a man of high moral fiber."

"I've never seen him leave a customer dangling," he said. "He works hard to make sure everyone is happy."

[Last modified January 7, 2007, 01:37:42]