Super Bowl Countdown

Super Bowl XLVI arrives in Indy!

   Da Bears!

Did not have to worry about the ice melting

                                       At the Soldier's Monument

Scenes from downtown Indianapolis as it prepares for and celebrates the Super Bowl.  Of course as an artist in metal, I have to say I really liked the planter decor of rusty metal footballs. 

Sneaky Snake

Remember that country song by Tom T Hall? It went something like "Boys and Girls take warning, if you go near the lake....keep your eyes wide open and look for SNEAKY SNAKE!"

I've heard that having something in your garden that resembles a snake is suppose to keep the pests away from your "goods".

If that is in fact true, this whimsical little guy should do the trick.

He's made from an old 7/8" auger bit that was put in the forge and formed on the anvil. Add some ball bearings for eyes and a slit piece of metal for his tonque and there ya go......Sneaky Snake. He measures about 15" long and is about 2" wide.

The longer he stays exposed to the elements, the more character he'll develop.

Hello Sunshine

While cleaning out an old pole barn, I came across this very cool vintage red bucket.  All it needed was a junk metal flower.  Luckily, I am never at a loss for junk metal.

The head of the flower is from an old lawn edger.  I love it because, to me, it reminds me of the sun....and what flower doesn't enjoy a little vitamin "D"?

A couple of beat up railroad spikes form the leaves.



Size" 9-1/2" wide x 20" tall  

Among the Flowers

I love hummingbirds and am blessed to have them visit the hanging flowers outside of my Tiki Bar. 

They have a telltale "buzz" that I can hear when they arrive providing I don't have Jimmy Buffet blaring on the sound system.

At any rate, their visits are the inspiration for this junk metal piece titled "Among The Flowers".

A railroad spike that has been heated in the forge and bent provides the body of the hummingbird, while trowels are it's wings. 


Size: 13" wide x 34" tall 

I Don't Know What it is

One of the nice things about being an artist in junk metal is that the items I have to work with are always different and unique.  Take this flower for instance.  I have no idea what it is that I found for the head of the flower but I new it would make a great flower head because of it uniqueness .  I was not disappointed.

I just wish I new what it was!  





Size:  11" wide x 24" tall

Pinterest

I have just recently been accepted on Pinterest.  For those not familiar with Pinterest, it is a site that
"lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes."


Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.

You can follow me there by clicking on the Pinterest Logo on the side bar.  Visit the site at http://pinterest.com/about/.  Happy pinning

Pot Top

Well, as you can see snow has hit the Hoosier State and the temperature is in the teens.  However, this flower has not shivered up and died like all of the others purchased at the local nursery.  No sir.

This junk metal flower, made from a discarded pot top and an old grinding wheel looks just as it did in July.  Ok, maybe there wasn't snow on the leaves in July.



Size: 22" wide by 42" tall    

Mask II

This is another piece in the mask line.    Simplistic in design but yet ears, eyes, nose and mouth are represented. 

I never seem to run out of shovel heads or faucet handles.  Folks just can't seem to get around to fixing broken shovel handles so they keep them hanging around in the corner of the garage for years until one day they have the garage sale and out they come.  The result of failed intentions. 

I snatch them up and then they sit in the corner of my studio until I come up with the right junk to turn them into a recycled creation.  Hopefully it's not years until that happens!    

Twitter

As an artist, one is always encouraged to join the "Social Media" stampede.  I tend to be more of a hernmit in that regard as I just don't think I have that much to say.

At any rate, I'll attempt to follow the advice of my advisors and contribute more to Twitter and Facebook in 2012.

With that in mind, I wanted an artistic icon for Twitter that would not only reflect the Twitter icon, but also add my own flair as a welder and artist.  I had my friend Chris Mauk of http://www.chrismauck.com/ design this icon for me.  It just cracks me up!  It is just whimsical enough to reflect the work I do.   I will link it to my account in the next day or so here on this site.

Blossum



Blossum



This is a flower arrangement that I made for my sister-in-law.  What I like the  most about it is the garden themed can and the way the natural colors of the faucet handles accent the colors in the can.  As you can see the can is filled with my signature "Industrial Dirt"                                             

Toucan

Birds are obviously a favorite thing of mine to create.  This one takes me back to my childhood and a cereal called Fruit Loops that had "Toucan Sam"  as it's mascot. 



I never actually ate the cereal as I thought it was too sweet but I loved the toucan!

Angel

Everyone needs angels in their life.  The key is recognizing the ones that walk among us.  This is a whimsical rendition of a "junk metal" one.

Once again you just have to look at things in a different  perspective to see the hidden things that lie within them.


Size:  12" wide x  14" tall

Sprocket Flower

I've known for a long time that the sprockets on a ten speed bike make a good flower head.  I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this sprocket from who knows what. 

It is just so industrial!   I've added my signature trowels for the leaves. 

I wish I had a metric boat load of these, but then, that is what makes each piece I make so unique.     


Size:  12" wide x23" tall.

Vintage Wrench Hooks

From the "When life Deals You Lemons, Make Lemonade" file.  I purchase a lot of open end wrenches on Ebay to produce fish and horseshoe crabs.  A lot of times these are sold in lots~so you have to take the good with the bad.  The good being the larger wrenches.  The bad (up until now)  the small ones. 

I was starting to get quite a pile of small wrenches with no idea what to do with them.  Then one day I came across something that gave me the idea to use them to make hooks.  I got the forge fired up, threw them in there to get them good and hot and bent them over a pipe to form a hook. 

After that, I took them to my drill press and drilled a hole in them so that they can be mounted on a board or a wall to hold any number of things.  I have several in my garage to hold jackets.  I have some in my studio to hold my welding helmet and goggles.  Ladies, you can even bring them indoors and hang your necklaces on them.      

Shed Head

The studio seems to get over run with miscellaneous junk over time so I needed to come up with some inspiration to use up all of the little pieces that didn't seem to fit into my other projects.

The result was the creation of something I called "Shed Heads"....little faces that can be hung from the side of the garden shed or on the fence to being some uniqueness to your humble abode.

I will be posting them here over the next month or so.  I think I created about 20 of them or so and photographed most of them. 

Piranah~Saw Blade Fish 46

This saw blade struck me as the perfect body for a fish as the design of the outside perimeter of the blade lent itself to a fish's fins and the cut in the blade formed a perfect mouth...with teeth......like a piranah. 

Although I normally do not paint my sculptures, I just felt that this one needed some color to compliment the color in the license plate tail.


Size: 7" tall x 11" long

C~R~E~A~T~E in JUNK

"CREATE"

This piece comes from the "Stop and smell the roses" camp.   If you stop to really look at everyday items with a new perspective, you see other opportunities hidden within them.   This is good advice for everyday living as well as creating junk metal art.  Go out and "create" something.  

Red Faucet Handle Flower

Vintage faucet handles make awesome flower heads.  Usually I create flowers that go in the ground.  This one veered off track and ended up in a little junk metal pot.

The nice thing about these flowers is that they never die, so they do not require a green thumb.  Also, you can go off on that vacation you were planning and not have to pay the neighbor kid to come over and water the plants.  It will still be in bloom when you get back.....even if you happen to call the boss and tell him some lame excuse that the car broke down or the airplane needs a new part just to extend the vacay a few more days.    

Woodsy Owl

This was the piece that started it all.  I happened to find the wheelbarrow tire rim and an old fan in my father -in-law's shed.  Little did I know at the time that I would end up welding them together along with some other found items I had to create this owl.  That was over five years ago and I still can't believe how lucky I was to have come across these items and my passion in life. 

What's Coming in 2012?

Happy New Year!   2012 promises to be a great year.  Throughout 2011, I have been working on three other stores to bring to market for 2012.  The first will be Dwayne Bulla Designs.  This shop will focus on jewelry from found objects and recycled metal.   This shop will launch about the third week of January,

The second store will be called Exit Ramp.  This store will focus on travel related items, once again recycling and repurposing items such as old maps.   This shop will open about the second week of March 2012.

The last store will be White Sand Beach.  This shop will focus on all things beach related and /or tropical.

Here you will find things such as beach glass and lake stone jewelry, beach decor for the home and outdoors and anything else that will help you escape to your favorite tropical locale.   This shop will open around late April or early May just in time to hit the beach! 

Of course junk metal art will continue to be created from discarded metal and old tools.  Several new designs  have been put to paper and will hopefully become reality.  Stay tuned.