One man’s junk ...

By Curt Swarm

Is another man’s treasure!

I’ve made sculptures out of junk, mostly farm junk, for a few years now. It all started when I had a couple pieces of junk that I thought needed to be attached to each other. The more I looked at them, the more I was convinced they would look much better hooked together. But how to do that? I didn’t have a welder so I went to Menards and bought the cheapest 110v welder I could find. I had never welded, but how hard could this be? Ground is ground the world round, right?

I was able to affix the two pieces together, and was off and running. (I eventually sold that original piece.) I now have a 220v welder and plasma cutter. Trust me on this one, I made every mistake in the book, and then some. I just about burned down the garage and barn, and I was hauled to the emergency room by ambulance at 2 a.m. with burned eyeballs. The salesman told me I didn’t need eye protection with the plasma cutter. Ha!

I’ve sold a number of sculptures to individuals as well as cities and towns, plus given a few away. I have a fairly representative collection of sculptures at our house just east of Mt. Pleasant on Highway 34. Look for the “Empty Nest Art” sign on the north side of the highway, at the intersection of Marsh Avenue and Highway 34. My junk, I mean “art” is on display alongside the highway.

Also look for the big “Cornstar” sculpture. It’s the biggest sculpture I’ve ever constructed. It’s made from John Deere corn-combine heads that I resurrected. In the middle of the Cornstar, I put an ear of corn, cut from sheet metal with the plasma cutter. I built the Cornstar on the floor of our pole barn. It’s so big I could hardly get it out of the barn, and it’s

so heavy I had to drag it to its present location on the ditch bank with the tractor. I’d like to sell “Cornstar” to Beck’s Hybrids, or Old Threshers or Sinclair Tractor, or even the City of Mt. Pleasant. If it doesn’t sell, that’s okay. It’s a great landmark for finding our house. “Look for the big star.”

I make smaller things, too, like the “Banana Holder” made from a hay-trolley hook. People ask me where I come up with ideas for my sculptures. I tell them they’re products of a demented mind or, God gave us imaginations to create, and my imagination works overtime.

I will be the featured “artist” at the Ft. Madison Area Arts Association, 825 Ave. G, in Ft. Madison for the month of July. The opening reception is on Friday, July 7 from 5 – 7 p.m. I’m donating 50 percent of all proceeds from the sales of my art to the Art Center. There will be a luncheon at the Art Center, “Lunch Ala Art” at noon on July 28, which is also my birthday. I’ll be 75. (You’re never too old to create.) My art can be viewed Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. through July 30. My three books are also available at the Art Center. Y’all come.

People ask me where I get my junk. I go to flea markets and junk yards, or just scour the countryside for farm junk piles. People also give me junk. I look at the construction of my “art” as a way of preserving some of the old farm equipment. We need to remember how we used to do things before Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes over the world.

Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@yahoo.com