Art sculpting
A second career in art sculpting proves profitable for former farmer.
The landscape that surrounds Trenton, Missouri, is typical of the Midwest; it's a patchwork of farm fields, sections of native prairie, and a winding river west of town bordered by thick timber.
It's a landscape where one expects to see an old-time windmill, the kind that farmers once used to supply power and bring up water for their stock. And 5 miles south of Trenton, a tall structure brings that image to mind.
But, wait. This piece is different than any windmill farmers once used. It's a 30-foot-tall, stainless steel kinetic sculpture topped by a spinning globe, the creation of former farmer and current artist Gary Dolan.
Ellen Dolan, Gary's wife, says the wind spinner attracts so much attention, they often find people have stopped to view, firsthand, this unique creation. They've even seen people eating their picnic lunch beside the spinner and often find notes of appreciation and compliments in their mailbox.
The spinners have proved to be a second career for the couple. Gary makes the sculptures and Ellen manages the business details. They have sold wind spinners to people in states as far away as New York, Colorado, and areas in between. The spinners are also on display at the Powell Botanical Gardens in Kansas City, Missouri.
Learning to weld
As a young man, Gary learned one of the most important skills he now relies on to make his unique sculptures. "My uncle was a welder, and he taught me how to weld. We started out with an arc welder, then an acetylene welder. There was something about welding that fascinated me," says Gary.
He used the welding during his farming career for equipment repair and maintenance. He bought a MIG wire welder several years ago, which he now uses on his sculptures.
The transition from farm welding to art welding began when the Dolans, who belong to a Master Gardener program in Trenton, wanted to add interest to their gardens.
Gary and Ellen had built a new home south of Trenton on 280 acres of farmland that has been in Ellen's family for over 100 years. "We didn't have mature trees and needed some hardscape to help anchor the flower gardens. So Gary made some obelisks and garden gates," says Ellen.
His design concept is simple: "I think about them, and they just come to me," he says.
The couple decided to sell Gary's iron work through local nurseries and landscaping companies. They also made arrangements to submit the garden items to the gift shop at the Powell Botanical Gardens in Kansas City.
Marketing the art
Just for fun, they added the first wind spinner Gary ever made to the first load of garden gates they took to Kansas City. Later, the Dolans made a gift of the spinner to the Powell Botanical Gardens. It is still on display and attracts attention and potential buyers.
The spinners are made by MIG-welding stainless steel tubing to form a separate base and spinner sphere. Gary shapes the tubing for the spheres on a machine that he made for that specific purpose. He uses a plasma cutter to cut the fins that he attaches to each curved rod in the sphere. The spinner rotates according to wind direction and velocity.
He makes one spinner at a time, sizing it for each customer's needs. The spinners range from 15 to 30 feet tall. "The common size is 15 feet. I have sold the 20-foot height, but never the 30-foot, because I have to make it in sections, and it's hard to move."
The 15-foot spinners sell for about $1,700; the 20-foot spinners sell for approximately $2,500. Gary's work is an integral part of the landscape that surrounds the couple's rural home, a location they both love.
"I'm a big sky person. I like my own space," says Ellen. "I like watching the sun set and seeing the changes each season brings."
"We love nature and enjoy watching all the ducks, geese, and other birds come to our pond," adds Gary.
They have the unique life combination that suits them both: a beautiful home in a rural location, art, nature, and an interesting second career.