Today we’d like to introduce you to Dale Lewis
Hi Dale, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After leaving my career as an electrical technician and machinist, I had time to explore three-dimensional art. I began making traditional mosaic sculptures and enjoyed the results. However, they are not well suited for permanent installation outdoors and cannot withstand the freeze/thaw of our harsh Minnesota winters. So, in 2010 I bought a welder and started experimenting.
I discovered that metal provides greater flexibility and working with scrap offers a wide variety of materials that often influence the design of my work. Not only can my pieces be permanently installed outdoors, but I love turning scrap into art. I look at things differently, especially at junk yards.
My goal is to make each of my pieces entertaining, fun and recognizable as having been crafted with salvaged materials. I’ve never felt that art has to be profound or deep to have an impact. So, while it is important for the viewer to get the recycling message, it shouldn’t necessarily override the simplicity of the main purpose which is to make people smile.
My hobby has become a full-time obsession. There’s no turning back now – this is what I want to do, when I grow up!
I gained national and international attention as an award-winning sculptor after years of participating in sculpture walks throughout a seven-state area including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, South Dakota, Missouri and Iowa, in addition to British Columbia, Canada.
Some of my awards include People’s Choice, Best in Show, Committee’s Choice and First Place. Four of my sculptures were featured at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Festival of Lights Exhibit in 2018. My traveling exhibits have been on display at Reiman Gardens in Ames, IA, The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Sioux City, IA, and Artisan Forge Studios and SculptureTour both of Eau Claire, WI.
Seven of my sculptures are permanent and favorite attractions at Big Stone Mini Golf and Sculpture Garden in Minnestrista, MN. These include Wooly Bully (a life-size Woolly Mammoth), Big Bird (a life-size extinct Elephant Bird), Sasquatch, Harley the Rhino, Dunes the Camel, When Pigs Fly the Natural Way, and When Pigs Fly – They Will Fly a Fighter Jet.
My sculptures have been purchased by retailers and private collectors, as well as acquired as public art by Mankato, MN (Godzilla), Salina, KS (Slim the Elephant and Patches the Hippo), River Falls, WI (Trout Slayer) and Eau Claire, WI (Trojan Horse), Red Wing, MN (Sunflowers), Liberty, MO (Out of Africa), Prescott, WI (Abe), Stillwater, MN (Cherry Tree) and St. Joseph, MO (Cherry Tree).
My sculptures are available for sale and lease.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I love building large-scale sculptures, but always have to keep in mind the challenge of transporting my sculptures. This limitation leaves me a bit jealous of those sculptors who either make sculptures small enough for easy shipping or can make their sculptures as large as they want because they do not plan to move them
When my Fine Art Representative and I decided to create traveling exhibits, (where we would send 10-12 sculptures to a particular site for display), we thought finding display venues might be difficult. That proved to be fairly easy – public gardens, museums and parks were eager to host exhibits. But shipping 10-12 sculptures at a time, proved to be quite difficult! And we are still dealing with that issue. Not only was it hard to find trucking companies capable of handling such unusual loads, the insurance industry made it even more difficult by their unwillingness to insure the loads
Currently, I’m working on my second woolly mammoth. Eight years ago, when I made my fist one, going up and down the ladder was a whole lot easier!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known for my large-scale sculptures made from a wide-variety of scrap metal materials which often influence the subject matter and design of my pieces. I’m lucky to either have the ability to select the right material for a particular sculpture I have in mind, or vise versa.
I think what sets my work apart from other sculptors is that I intentionally add personality to each piece by including humor, whimsy and other things to make them entertaining. Again, my goal is to make the viewer smile.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
One of the most frequent questions I get is “How long did it take you to make that?” Because this is my retirement hobby, I purposefully don’t keep track of the hours. But one of my most involved pieces, a spiral Chinese dragon named “Bing” took 8 months to build.
The public is always welcome to come to my workshop/property to see sculptures and the latest pieces I’m working on (my wife never dreamed our yard would become a destination!). Everyone is also welcome to see my sculptures at my friend’s property (we’ve recently named it the Benjamin-Lewis Sculpture Park) at the intersection of Hwy 42 and Lock Blvd in Hastings, MN.
Because of the transportation/shipping challenges for my traveling exhibits, we are looking for a large venue for permanent display of my work.
All my available sculptures for purchase or lease are listed and priced on my website: ArtistDaleLewis.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ArtistDaleLewis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistdalelewis/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistDaleLewis
