Randy Warren of Rockingham doesn’t consider himself an artist, although he pieced together a large work of modern art, entitled ‘Circ de Sol,’ an interpretive art piece.
The 50-pound sculpture consists of a large red circle standing upright, with a triangle attached to the front, fixed to a horizontal red board at the bottom, with a black pipe and a wheel attached to it. The front of the sculpture also has a piece of wood attached to it.
“My uncle was an interior designer in Washington, D.C., for years,” said Warren. “He sent me some stuff (pictures of modern art) and asked me, ‘Can you make this for me?’ I guess it caught his eye.”
The request wasn’t out of the ordinary to Warren, as he had plenty of extra materials and a knack for putting things together. He has been in contracting for 30 years and owns Warren’s Home Improvement Co., in Rockingham.
“I make a lot of stuff. The copper I had left over for years. It’s from my house, actually. That’s 50-year old copper,” said Warren. “I told my uncle one time I would open a store called SMOC — Stuff Made Of Crap. Well, he ran with it.”
As far as modeling the art after a picture goes, Warren said he had no reference for scale so the work became interpretive with a hint of originality.
“I just love the texture,” said Arts Richmond Executive Director Laura Daskal. “It’s a great combination of organic and industrial.”
“My uncle said he wanted the circle to be at least three feet around,” said Warren as he stood beside the art in the window of the Arts Council. “I tried to hold true to the SMOC theme.”
Warren said he has made other art out of pieces of material left over from other projects; art like wall hangings and smaller structures. The materials he used this time were steel, copper, wood and piping. He even documented his progress and added up his time spent on the process. He said it took about 50 hours to make, which included welding and painting.
“My uncle wanted it red, he said like my Corvette … I couldn’t get car paint, but I painted it red,” said Warren. “It’s the first thing I’ve made that somebody else wanted.”
— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at dkurry@heartlandpublications.com.
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