Bruce Campbell, Creating Art from Discards

Bruce Campbell is one of my favorite local artists. He never fails to impress, amaze and inspire me with this talent, creativity and unique approach to life and art.

Not only is Bruce a talented sculptor and painter, he combines these skills with a unique way to reuse old items.

My art is created using various combinations of welding, carving, painting and engraving on salvaged industrial forms. I've diverted countless tons of material from the waste stream, and hopefully I'm helping people see the beauty and value in so-called "junk". As an artist, I benefit from the unique shapes and odd details produced for functionality (my process is a collaboration with unknown people who were unaware they were creating sculpture) which are often improved by being dented, gouged or partially crushed. I also love the gorgeous surface patinas and textures created by the forces of time, the gradual reclamation of nature.

Walking around Bruce's studio is an eye-opening experience. Old fashioned washing machines sport new faces, huge tanks become kings and queens with curls fashioned from parts of water heaters.

Old wooden gates become mystical wall sculptures.

Figures seem to appear and disappear, morphing from one image to another.

Much of Bruce's art is conducive to outdoor display. Whether due in part to scale or because of the materials, exposure to the elements can further add to the works.

By combining "found steel" and other found objects with welding, engraving and painting, Bruce brings new life to items that otherwise would find themselves either in the landfill or recycled into some new gadget.

Bruce does more than keep thing out of the landfill and save our resources...Bruce catapults everyday items into fantastic sculptures that are sold and exhibited around the west.

Photograph "Envision", Sculpture and Photograph copyright Bruce Campbell

David Norrie Metalworker and Sculptor

Metal sculptures are not all cast. There are sculptors who use a torch to meld pieces of metal together to create their work.

Metalworking can include torches, welders, and forging tools. Yes, forging, as in anvil and hammer and the old blacksmith.

One local sculptor, David Norrie, uses both hand and pneumatic forging hammers--over 150 of them altogether.

He first learned about the art of blacksmithing at 18 in Canada, where he was born. Like most of us, he thought blacksmithing was about creating functional items, and so that is how it all began.

His viewpoint shifted at a conference in 1978 where he learned about metalworking as an art form. He still creates some functional pieces, like staircases, but also creates pieces that are purely aesthetic. While the forge was his first love and he still uses it for the majority of his work, he likes to push the limits and try new things and see what he can make the metal do.