It seems strange to be in Tucson in December with a steady rain pouring down. The same thing happened yesterday. Today, though, there’s thunder and lightening, making me feel more as if I were at home in Kansas. Even so, I'm thinking of desert art.
Some people who live in the Arizona desert country use the desert as a junkyard, abandoning old metal pieces to the elements. These pieces survive for years of burning heat and monsoon rains. Other desert-dwelling people like going into the desert to shoot their guns. They shoot up cacti but their favored targets are those abandoned metal pieces.
Our friend Gabe, who is a welder of ornamental and artistic pieces, likes to walk in the desert, collecting the old metal, including the metal used as a target. After he flattens and shapes them, they become pieces of art.
I love found art, and have many examples on display in my home. I was naturally drawn to Gabe’s art, and told him so. My enthusiasm earned me two gifts from Gabe.
Last year he presented me with this piece. Gabe offered to hammer it out flat, but I loved it just as it was.
When we returned to Tucson this fall, I discovered another gift. This one has not been a shooter’s target. The shape is wrong for that purpose. The piece appears not to hove been in the desert long enough to develop rust. Grant tied it to the shed wall with wire for display..
I love these pieces partly because, like me and like many of us, they are bent and twisted, but they have survived.
Copyright 2018 by Shirley Domer
