Big Ass Fish Company Storms Petaluma

Over the weekend, there was a wedding reception for Jeff and Sara Corda out at the Alfred Corda Ranch. Among the guests were Alaskan artisans who specialize in huge spun steel fire pits.

I mention this because Jody Barton, founder of the Big Ass Fish Company in Anchorage, Alaska, drove all around Petaluma pulling a flat trailer with eight amazing examples of his craft for most of the weekend. On a busy weekend that included the second annual  celebration, half the town wondered who made them. 

“That’s the fun part," said Barton with a big mustachioed grin. "Wherever I go, I pull this big ass trailer and people go ‘Whoooa! What is that?’ And they take down the number and they check out our website and that’s how we sell ’em.” 

Jody Barton has been a steel artisan going on twenty years now. Based in Anchorage, he sells tons of huge metal fish, nature scenes and does occasional commercial installations.

“We’re famous for a huge fish in front of a business in Anchorage, and when I delivered it the owner said, ‘Man! That’s a big ass fish!’ And it just stuck. We became the big ass fish people.”

Lately, BAFCO has been working with naval grade cold-formed spun steel vessels to which they add Art Deco style legs with large footpads. Then they carve out and original designs around the top edge of the bowls. Some bowls are freeform, while others depict scenes from nature. One bowl designed by Jody’s daughter, Bayley, is a hallucinogenic dreamscape of swimming octopi.

The winters are long in Alaska and the dad and daughter team create and execute new fire pit orb designs while it's dark and cold. When summer comes, they hitch their trailer up and travel around the West, visiting friends, like the Cordas, checking out community fairs and farmers markets.

They’re on the prowl for just the right place to show their incredibly unique wears, which retail for $1,100 to $1,600.

The process of making one of these fire pits is labor intensive and includes burning the metal to darken it and sealing it with linseed oil.  Some owners prefer to let them get a little rusty and then seal them again. Each completed pit is christened by the Bartons with a beer toast.

“Every one is unique. We don’t churn out in series or sets. Of course if someone wanted a pair, we could do that. What we love is working with people and then surprising them,” said Bayley Barton.

Often, the artists hide images in their creations, like birds and animals.

“That’s the fun, discovering little hidden things in the artwork," she said.

In addition to the fire pits, the Bartons use every bit of cut out scrap to fashion huge orbs that can be illuminated or used as small fire pits that create an airy, even a lacy quality to quarter inch thick steel.

“We’re having a blast doing this. It’s so rare for a dad to be able to work with a daughter, so I feel like it’s a real privilege. On top of it, we meet neat people and other artists when we take to the road. We’re learning all the time and can’t wait to get back to work,” said Jody Barton.