Welder Tkes Hotseshoes and Turns Into Works of Art

Klennert used metal plates and horseshoes to create the body of this seahorse, a project inspired by pieces of metal he found in a befouled that was burned downward. He besides used old belt pulleys to provide the roundness of the seahorse'southward torso and electric motor scrap for the end of its tail.

When Dan Klennert was just 6 years former, he embraced art by cartoon and tracing pictures from his coloring books. Now he scours the ravines of eastern Washington wheatfields in search of fleck metallic that will spark his next creation.

Klennert, a 50-year-erstwhile Elbe, Launder., resident, started welding nigh 30 years agone when he learned to utilize shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) from his boss while working as a mechanic. Since then he hasn't stopped using the procedure, but now he uses it artistically.

"He taught me how to run a bead on ii flat pieces of metal," Klennert said of his sometime employer. "He told me to watch the pool and only practice, practice, exercise. So that's what I've been doing."

These days Klennert's studio, non far from Mountain Rainier, is a v,000-sq.-ft. wonderland of rust-colored scrap metal sculptures, exterior of which is approximately 3 acres of land, the phase for his outdoor creations. His projects, some weighing as much as vi,000 or eight,000 lbs., include dinosaurs, birds, fish, horses, and people on Harley motorcycles.

Klennert didn't get-go out trying to build the biggest scrap metallic statues he could, yet. In fact, it took a dorsum injury he incurred while working in construction to push him toward pursuing his art seriously.

"I think I was meant to be an artist. It's my centre and soul combined," he said.

For 10 years Klennert made welded scrap metal gifts. Then one day someone suggested that he take his creations to an craft fair. Information technology was and then that people started noticing his sculptures — and paying for them.

Today people traveling from all over the world can stop past Klennert's studio on the fashion to Mount Rainier. He recently had his picture taken with monks from Thailand who visited him during their journey.

People's reactions to his fine art still astonish Klennert.

"They see my junk and thank me for enlightening them. Isn't that something?" he said.

Recycling Metallic, Renewing Spirits

The cowboy kick tips used for "Jens the Gun Fighter," made of big backhoe teeth, inspired Klennert to create this sculpture. Jens stands at 9 ft. 6 in. alpine without the base of operations, 11 ft. 6 in. tall with the base.

In his search for his next inspired sculpture, Klennert lets the metallic "speak" to him.

During his quests for inspiration, which mostly atomic number 82 him to wheatfields in eastern Washington, Klennert looks for one piece of metal that he can envision as any role of an creature or cosmos. Then he searches for other parts that will work together with that slice to get the image in his mind.

The scrap he finds comes from, for example, Model Ts and farm implements that were dumped every bit long agone equally the 1920s. Klennert sees a certain history, personality, and spirit in these pieces just waiting to exist revived in a sculpture.

"The metal dictates what I create; it speaks to me," he said. "It's the metal that made America what it is today. It jumps out at me to what I see in my heed's eye—a office of a bird, a person, a tricycle."

Considering he feels he gives new life to onetime scrap metal, Klennert calls his studio "Recycled Spirits."

Trying New Things in an Old-fashioned Mode

Klennert hasn't tried whatever other welding processes since he started experimenting with SMAW. However, he does introduce new ideas into his art with paint, hanging flags, or wildflowers for color. Recently he started using driftwood in his statues.

"I guess I'one thousand old-fashioned," he said near sticking with SMAW. "I've ever loved art, cartoon, pictures, forest carving — creating with my hands. And when I got into being a mechanic, information technology all came together because I like to scrounge, also."

Klennert said he doesn't recall well-nigh what types of metals he's welding together. Instead, he takes buckets or a wheelbarrow with him to find what he thinks volition look right in the terminal product. Many pieces already accept been harvested, pending just the right piece that volition spark Klennert'southward imagination.

Like the wide range of metal he welds, a variety of music as well helps the mood when Klennert's inspired. He plays anything from American Indian music to rock 'north' roll when he's difficult at work.

No matter the cosmos, Klennert is happy to bring back to life the lost pieces of metal dumped along the roadsides of America. In bringing them together, he says he brings back a piece of history, 1 scrap at a time.

"I'm cleaning up America by welding all this junk together."

For more than information on Dan Klennert'south sculptures, contact him at P.O. Box 402, Elbe, WA 98330, phone 360-569-2280, electronic mail irondan@nwlink.com, Web site world wide web.geocities.com/SoHo/3344/.

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Source: https://www.thefabricator.com/thewelder/article/arcwelding/one-persons-trash-is-another-persons--seahorser