John Lopez sees old scraps as an opportunity to honor the animal kingdom. It would be understandable if you found pieces of old machinery lying around to be a bit of an eyesore. For John Lopez, however, an artist from South Dakota, these tired pieces of metal are an opportunity to make striking works of art that truly celebrate the beauty of God’s creation.
Collecting scraps of machinery from friends or local farms, Lopez, who’s also a farmer, creates sculptures that bring together redundant pieces of machinery and scraps and give them a combined force that showcases the energy of the animal he’s depicting. The artist cleverly uses the actual mechanics of the junk to highlight the muscles and power of these metal animals. The results are breathtaking.
Lopez’s Facebook account depicts a multitude of his works, and we’ve picked out a few favorites below. However, his artistic skills might also inspire you to put your own junk to good use. You could even get your kids involved and let their imaginations run wild, using nature as a source of inspiration — although they will definitely need adult supervision with this sort of project.
The farm horse hard at work
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411359092439464/1434983326743707/?type=3&theater
The majestic moose
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411359092439464/1904494553125913/?type=3&theater
The artist hard at work
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411359092439464/1598094950432543/?type=3&theater
The dinosaur brought back to life
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411359092439464/1515126112062761/?type=3&theater
The beautiful bison
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411359092439464/1411359082439465/?type=3&theater
In honor of the cowboy life
https://www.facebook.com/johnlopezsculptures/photos/a.1411360215772685/1789761474599222/?type=3&theater
Read more:
Watch this artist create an icon of Christ
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