Dillon Chandler            

 

   A few years ago I was cleaning out an old machine shop.  This shop was filled to the ceiling with derelict engines, long forgotten equipment, and ancient mechanical objects of undetermined origins. In the process of removing a portion of the unwanted debris I noticed a small area of this mechanical abyss started to become cleaned out. Within this area there stood a small pile of gears, bolts, cables, and wires. I stopped right in the middle of unloading a box that was nearly crumbling in my hands due to decay and I stared with confusion at the pile on the floor. My confusion was due to the fact that what I was looking at was not a pile of aged rusty parts. Not even close. What I saw instead was a reptile.  It had a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and its head was thrashing around to the left like it was trying to snap at some unfortunate fish that had swam up too close to the surface in this twisting river of iron and steel. Its skin was covered with old jagged scars from numerous encounters with both predators and prey........Well.....that's what I saw anyway.

          After seeing that creature I knew that it was my duty to repair him. You see he was no longer intact. His form was there but the pieces were not connected. In the newer part of the building where our new found friend was laying there was a Miller MIG welder. I dropped the box I was holding and went straight for the welder. I grabbed a hood and some gloves. I wheeled the welder over to the pile and I started in. Sparks flew. Molten slag dripped to the floor and made little pools of liquid art. I worked for hours without stopping.  Grinding, welding, the mechanical hum of drills and saws filled the air. And suddenly it was finished. I stood up and lifted my hood. The air was filled with a light haze of smoke and steam. As the air cleared I got my first look at it. It was whole, it was alive. That was the first piece and it is responsible for everything that I have done.

      I enjoy the challenge of taking objects and shaping them, molding them, making them come to life. In fact that is the very inspiration for my sculptures.  I love challenge. Nothing makes me happier than when I am in the middle of some part of my daily life and I get an idea. An idea that has some sort of meaning to me. And it's best of all when I think that there is no way I could ever create it in steel. Sometimes I get so excited I scribble it down and rush to my brother Tallon to show him what I thought of.  And no matter how odd or goofy it is he always takes a real interest in it. It's that thought that it can't be done (at least not by me) and I still try that drives me. Now some of the time it comes out..........not so hot. But every once in a while I make something and when I step back and look at it I think to myself "Wow how the hell could someone like me do that?". For me that's what sculpting is all about. Without the challenge that comes to us on a daily basis, how else can we test ourselves? If everything was certain, if there were no doubts, would we still be human? Strength, sacrifice, determination, these are just a few examples of what comes to the surface when faced with a challenge. It has defined the human race since the beginning of our rule on this speck in the heavens. Could we survive without challenge in our lives?  My favorite challenge is creation and metal has been my gateway to it.