11 Favorite Recycled Iron Sculptures by James Kitchen... Sculptor, Recycler of Iron, Conserver of Lasing Beauty

I met James last week at the Garlic and Arts Festival in western MA. Turns out I know his brother, and we were all in some of the same circles back when we all lived in Wisconsin! Now he makes his living turning old iron parts into fabulous art. He’s been welding scrap metal for the past eight years at his home and studio in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. He continues to gain recognition in the world of fine arts. According to his website, all of the metal in his sculptures come from local farms, antique stores, auctions, and the occasional drive-by neighbors who leave piles of interesting objects in Kitchen’s driveway.

“I like the fact that it’s my town and community and their history.” He has even rescued cutlery, tossed from a closed factory, from the Mill River. “I’m rescuing this poor old piece,” Kitchen says holding a piece of metal, “and enriching someone’s life.” Kitchen uses nature to mature and nurture his sculptures into the finest rust patina and does little else to alter the metal. “I don’t try to reshape stuff, if it goes then it was meant to be there,” he says.

Here are 10 of my favorites:

Rakish Bird – Most beautiful ex-rake ever

Universe Revealed – Gears, hoops, wheels

Aquarium – Augur bits and shovels into seascapes with a pliers lurking near the bottom

Blues Singer – old nails, rings, hooks, nut, screw

Minor Delays – Fish from shovel and picks

Phishon- from hoops, rebar, sheet metal

“In my heart I feel this is my calling in life,” says Kitchen, “everything I have done leads up to this.”  Lucky for us, James. Visit James Kitchen at www.jameskitchen.com.