Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Fullerton.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Artist? Well maybe. I am more of a creator-builder. Rather than talent, what I do is more like tenacious desire to create. One day before Christmas Eve many years ago I had this unction to build a cross. It ended up being 40 feet tall and thirty feet wide. I had to devise a way to build a base for it to hinge on in order to raise the cross up. As it got dark Christmas Eve I had placed the last light and stood the cross up as darkness came. It was a surreal moment. The value of purpose greatly surpassing the effort taken.
Same desire came as my daughter said, “I’d like to get married on our land if we had a cool barn.” Without debate, just a question within of “will you?” I said “Yes.” So next I began to gather what I had to build with–mostly salvaged materials: tin from torn down buildings, I-beam from the same, but also from other industries’ leftovers, wood from old warehouse floors I took apart to cover the walls in, and from old railroad cars, we made the floor 2×12 tongue and groove.
The result is Sparrow Creek Ranch, a distinct work of art made of repurposed materials top-to-bottom that I share with couples from all over the country.
Please tell us about your art.
I see things easily. For instance, I just pulled a cast iron forge table with broken legs out of a pile of scrap metal because I can see its potential in a new life as a cool sink basin with brass piping and valves. I cut up an old steel riveted bridge many years ago and could clearly see these bridge girders as exposed rafters with cool lighting running through them in a building. That’s exactly what they are being turned into today at Sparrow Creek Ranch.
How? Most of my work is vintage industrial and automotive with some farm ranch and oilfield reflection. So that said, there is a lot of work in gathering material. Old wood and steel seem to fit my hands best. A discarded privacy fence is not at all what I consider old wood. What I look for is character wood from condemned houses or barns, sheds, and especially buildings with stories. Those are the materials I appreciate the most.
Why? When I drive by and see a house or building being remodeled and see all that material going into the dumpster it’s hard to look past it. As a child, I remember seeing an article about the rainforest being decimated and thought “what you can do besides say…what a shame.” Well, my answer is to pull out an old nail and reuse a board or go ahead and admit you don’t care enough to actually do anything.
I proudly work within the auto salvage and the scrap metal industry. Too often we have been looked upon unfavorably but the facts point to us as huge contributors to the solution, not the problem. The experience in making things work that were deemed broken or taking the parts from a salvage unit to make another whole is satisfying. Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. Reuse to its original purpose is the highest form of conservation of goods. Like a door reused on another car or a board reused in a project. Repurpose is next and where most of my art flows toward. Such as the case for the old bridge girders I’ve repurposed as building rafters or scrap oil tank manholes as picture frames. Then recycle such as my crushed cars becoming possibly a source of material for a part on the next plane you fly on or the bridge you drive over.
Do you have any advice for other artists?
Get used to being misunderstood. Write things down make notes for your own remembrance. But towards others: take more initiative to seek out those who have toiled to bring others enjoyment and send them a card, a random act of “I noticed or admired your work.” I have been quite lacking in this so let me say you have a very interesting blog at Voyage Dallas, and I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to join the ranks.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can have a thousand people look right past what you have made. Then comes that one person who shows genuine appreciation of the hours and effort and the fire is stoked again and artists start the next project. If you see something you appreciate let the creator, builder, or artist know. You may have been the only one to do so in a long time. People can see my work at Sparrow Creek Ranch and the Green Broke Inn in Graham, TX.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sparrowcreekranch.com
- Phone: 817-564-2613
- Email: sparrowcreekranch@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sparrowcreekranch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sparrowcreekranch/
- Twitter: @partingout
- Other: https://www.kkmotors.com/
Image Credit:
1st photo black and white – Plan it Ink Photography
2nd photo with bride in blush gown – Mikayla Dawn Phootography
photos of building no credit needed
last photos with watermark – Miranda Taack Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
