Ian Bird

Open Saturday, #9

American Mettle, Lower 48 Truman

found metal objects

I am a retired United States Coast Guard officer, now a full time metal sculptor. I specialize in Americana and favor using materials from forgotten American cars, machines, etc. My designs combine color, contrast and texture to create a cohesive work. Everything I use had its own life and story before it came to me. The painted surfaces remain as found. I don’t clean or polish my materials, I incorporate the dents, scratches, dirt and rust. I like the nostalgia in using these fragments of forgotten old things, I relate to them from my own experiences. My work is more than what you see before you, it is also about what the parts once were.