Welding Garbage into Art
One Man’ s Adventure
Harry Weekley Jr started welding in high school and had a career as a hydroelectric plant mechanic, but it wasn’ t until a“ craftsy” friend showed him a metal rendition of a stork he had welded together from pieces of scrap steel that he became inspired to start using his skills for artistic means.“ That was the light switch,” he says.“ So I started putting this garbage together.” This is true in a literal sense, as his pieces are predominately built from scrap metal and pieces of junk no one has use for anymore. He displays roughly 70 pieces, remarkably diverse in their material and subject matter, on a public
Harry Weekley, left walking trail near his house several miles outside of Alpine.
Despite the remarkable craftsmanship and creativity demonstrated in his work, Weekley doesn’ t take himself or his art too seriously.“ It’ s funny because I don’ t consider myself an artist,” he says, " I just tinker.” His tinkering results in pieces constructed from ancient pistols, handcuffs, gas burners, slabs of river rock and old prop plane propellors. Even wine openers are used in some unexpected way.
Weekley’ s pieces range from intricately crafted scenes populated with rail-road spikes and spark plug figures to wild animals you would find in the region like buzzards and javelinas, as well as mythical dragons, aliens, and dinosaurs you won’ t find in any region of reality. This kind of diversity illustrates his easygoing approach to his craft. His pieces are often whimsical and humorous, with sly references to popular movies and culture scattered throughout the trail. Weekley summed his work up best in his own words,“ A lot of folks around here do fine art," he says. " I do fun art.” To learn more and to visit the“ Art Trail” go to GalleriesArtists. com. BB
All photos by Rachael Waller BIG BEND GALLERIES AND ARTISTS / 2015 17