It all started when Jeff Bishop was 14. His mom bought a welder for his father, and he was set to pick up the craft. Years later, Bishop uses his skill and eye for artistic form to make unique sculptures out of scrap metal.
“I’ve been around heavy equipment all my life,” he recalled.
A portion of his work is on display at the Poplar Bluff Library main branch through the end of April.
Bishop said he has always been interested in comic books and drawing.
Before making sculptures, one of his first forays into the world of art was painting comic book characters on the body of his 1985 Pontiac 1000. When his son’s Chevette burned, they cut it in half to attach as a trailer for the Pontiac as more canvas.
Four years ago, Bishop started making sculptures out of scrap parts. He sources the metal from truck, lawn mower, and bicycle repair shops. Bishop takes pieces of equipment apart and lets what he finds inspire him.
“I never know what I’m going to build until I start building it,” he joked.
Besides taking art class in high school, Bishop is completely self-taught. His artwork can be found in various businesses in the area such as Country Cycles, Sheppard’s Auto Sales, and Myra’s Sewing Shop.
He said the business owners are often approached by customers asking to buy the artwork or to find out where they can purchase it. Bishop, however, is not interested in monetizing his work. He said people trying to buy his artwork hampers his creativity. Instead, he focuses on inspiring others to take up the art.
“Skill is not a relevant thing,” Bishop emphasized, “It’s the effort you put into it that makes it what it is.”
He confirmed some pieces took over 40 hours to make. While welding remains a central feature of his art, Bishop maintains others can make impressive works without knowing how to weld.
“You can JB weld, you can use glue,” he elaborated.
Bishop said he would be willing to come by the library to offer his expertise as a resource to those interested in making recycled art. Employed at Nortek, he finds ways to carve out time for his passion in an 8x10 foot enclosure in his garage.
Bishop hopes his work will inspire others to creativity and overcome any remaining barriers to exploring their hidden artistic side.