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Mitch Cohen
Jul 18, 2008, 12:37:13 AM7/18/08
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/5891847.html
Sugar Land man turns scrap metal to art
By KIM MORGAN
One man's trash is another man's treasure, so much so that Sugar Land
resident Jim Adams is trying to make a living off of it.
Adams, 59, is a scrap metal artist.
His work is on display at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum, 1921 Ave. F.
in an exhibit titled "Iron and Steel."
"My mission is to find aspects of beauty or meaning in what is
considered 'scrap,' " Adams said, "and give it a second life as art."
Originally from Missouri, Adams worked for several years in the
information technology industry. In 2005 he became inspired to do
something else.
His inspiration came in the form a 1950s pickup truck he was taking
apart.
"I had this piece of scrap metal from the axle," Adams said. "I was
taking it apart and looked at these little round things that looked
kind of like ears. I had ears in my hand. I looked at the rest of this
thing and I realized it was going to be a dog. There was a rubber
bumper pad which became its nose. I mean, the dog was there. I just
released him."
The result is Scrappy the Junkyard Dog, which is on loan to the museum
for viewing but is not for sale. His home is in Adams' garden,
alongside some steel flowers.
"I realized I really enjoy doing this," Adams said. "So I made some
odds and ends. But last year I started getting serious about this."
Working out of his garage, Adams uses scrap metal people either give
him or that he finds.
"New metal is wonderful stuff," Adams said. "But old metal has
character. It has some history to it."
Much of his artwork is made from railroad spikes.
"Making people out of railroad spikes . . . I sweat and swear a lot,"
Adams said. "I'm trying to get postures and motion out of chunks of
steel."
His Warriors series depicts the valor and bravery of soldiers.
His creations fall in several categories, including steel flowers,
people, abstractions and dreams and fantasies.
"Most of the time, ideas just come right out at me," Adams said. "I
like to say that I don't hear voices, but I do have visions."
Once, Adams got a jackhammer barrel, looked at it, and thought it
looked like an animal's snout. So he created a work he titled Beast.
Some pieces are functional art, such as the table he made out of a
sanitary sewer manhole cover. "It won't blow over on a windy day," he
said, "but you don't want to bang your knee on it."
Approximately 40 pieces of Adams' work are on display at the museum
through the end of August.
Most of the pieces are available for purchase, with a percentage of
proceeds donated to the museum.
Jana Smith, museum executive director, said it had a photo exhibit
before, but this the first "real art exhibit."
"It's so appropriate for us because most of his pieces are made out of
railroad spikes and railroad plates," Smith said. "Some of the pieces
are so delicate, to be made out of such heavy metal pieces. To turn
scrap like that into a piece of artwork is awesome."
Last fall, Adams donated one of his pieces to the museum's gala as a
raffle prize. The winner of Old Soldier was Betty Verdino of Missouri
City.
"I had seen it and remarked that I sure would like to have it," she
said. "I like that railroading aspect of his artwork. He calls his
stuff `track trash,' which is kind on an interesting term. It's stuff
he picks up along the railroad, and makes beautiful things out of it."
Verdino said the piece stands more than 3-feet tall and sits in her
garden.
"He (Adams) thinks it's a soldier, and that's good enough for me,"
Verdino said, "but to me, a soldier is kind of war-like, and I think
this is a peaceful little character."
Adams has been invited to participate in this year's Texas Metal Arts
Festival in Gruene, a "premier" gathering of selected metal sculptors
and artists Sept. 13-14.
The "Iron and Steel" exhibit will be on display through the end of
August. The hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1 – 5 p.m.
Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children
and students ages 4-14.
For more information: visit www.adams-ferro.com
Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/5891847.html
Sugar Land man turns scrap metal to art
By KIM MORGAN
One man's trash is another man's treasure, so much so that Sugar Land
resident Jim Adams is trying to make a living off of it.
Adams, 59, is a scrap metal artist.
His work is on display at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum, 1921 Ave. F.
in an exhibit titled "Iron and Steel."
"My mission is to find aspects of beauty or meaning in what is
considered 'scrap,' " Adams said, "and give it a second life as art."
Originally from Missouri, Adams worked for several years in the
information technology industry. In 2005 he became inspired to do
something else.
His inspiration came in the form a 1950s pickup truck he was taking
apart.
"I had this piece of scrap metal from the axle," Adams said. "I was
taking it apart and looked at these little round things that looked
kind of like ears. I had ears in my hand. I looked at the rest of this
thing and I realized it was going to be a dog. There was a rubber
bumper pad which became its nose. I mean, the dog was there. I just
released him."
The result is Scrappy the Junkyard Dog, which is on loan to the museum
for viewing but is not for sale. His home is in Adams' garden,
alongside some steel flowers.
"I realized I really enjoy doing this," Adams said. "So I made some
odds and ends. But last year I started getting serious about this."
Working out of his garage, Adams uses scrap metal people either give
him or that he finds.
"New metal is wonderful stuff," Adams said. "But old metal has
character. It has some history to it."
Much of his artwork is made from railroad spikes.
"Making people out of railroad spikes . . . I sweat and swear a lot,"
Adams said. "I'm trying to get postures and motion out of chunks of
steel."
His Warriors series depicts the valor and bravery of soldiers.
His creations fall in several categories, including steel flowers,
people, abstractions and dreams and fantasies.
"Most of the time, ideas just come right out at me," Adams said. "I
like to say that I don't hear voices, but I do have visions."
Once, Adams got a jackhammer barrel, looked at it, and thought it
looked like an animal's snout. So he created a work he titled Beast.
Some pieces are functional art, such as the table he made out of a
sanitary sewer manhole cover. "It won't blow over on a windy day," he
said, "but you don't want to bang your knee on it."
Approximately 40 pieces of Adams' work are on display at the museum
through the end of August.
Most of the pieces are available for purchase, with a percentage of
proceeds donated to the museum.
Jana Smith, museum executive director, said it had a photo exhibit
before, but this the first "real art exhibit."
"It's so appropriate for us because most of his pieces are made out of
railroad spikes and railroad plates," Smith said. "Some of the pieces
are so delicate, to be made out of such heavy metal pieces. To turn
scrap like that into a piece of artwork is awesome."
Last fall, Adams donated one of his pieces to the museum's gala as a
raffle prize. The winner of Old Soldier was Betty Verdino of Missouri
City.
"I had seen it and remarked that I sure would like to have it," she
said. "I like that railroading aspect of his artwork. He calls his
stuff `track trash,' which is kind on an interesting term. It's stuff
he picks up along the railroad, and makes beautiful things out of it."
Verdino said the piece stands more than 3-feet tall and sits in her
garden.
"He (Adams) thinks it's a soldier, and that's good enough for me,"
Verdino said, "but to me, a soldier is kind of war-like, and I think
this is a peaceful little character."
Adams has been invited to participate in this year's Texas Metal Arts
Festival in Gruene, a "premier" gathering of selected metal sculptors
and artists Sept. 13-14.
The "Iron and Steel" exhibit will be on display through the end of
August. The hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1 – 5 p.m.
Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for children
and students ages 4-14.
For more information: visit www.adams-ferro.com
Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com
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