Welding Junkyard Masterpieces With the Cowboy Sculptor

- A lot of people wonder why I'm living here
'cause I could live in L.A. or New York
and be building sculptures there,
but the minute I drive up to my little ranch here,
I feel like I'm onto something
that's never been done before.
(upbeat music)
My name is John Lopez,
and I'm a scrap metal sculptor.
(upbeat music)
I use a scoop shovel, I use snow chains,
I use wrenches, scissors,
gosh, I use tractor seats,
basically anything that is mild steel.
(tranquil music)
It just so happens that I live in a scrap metal paradise
because every farmer and rancher in the area
has a scrap metal pile of some kind.
People are very generous around here
to invite me over and say you can look
through our scrap pile
and so, that's where I gather
my materials for my sculptures.
So, then I bring all this found objects home
that I've hand picked
and I start grabbing things
and fitting them up there.
It's a textural experience.
It's almost like a patchwork quilt if you will.
It's got a little bit of everything in it
and within all that chaos,
when you step back, the animal comes to life
and scrap metal shouldn't do that.
One of the most important things for me
is to be connected to the land.
South Dakota inspires me.
I bought an empty lot on Main Street in Lemmon
and right next to the park that I put it in
was an old bar called the Kokomo.
I cleaned the Kokomo out, renovated it
and turned it into a really nice art gallery
where I can feature and show my finished sculptures.
I've had people come up to me and express
in emotion what it means to them
or I've had letters.
I've seen a lot of scrap metal sculptures around
but I don't think I've ever seen anybody capture
the life that my sculptures capture
and maybe it will affect some of the kids
that live here and their life
and send them off in a direction
that it wouldn't if I wasn't living here.
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Welding Junkyard Masterpieces With the Cowboy Sculptor

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