Looking over the fence we knew we wouldn't be disappointed. We knew visiting here would not be the junkyard blues. I think the junkyard blues would be if you had to get rid of all the junk there. We wondered if the missile near the front gate was real and what the story behind it was. Did I mention we got there the other day just after they closed. We vowed to go back the very next day and that's just what we did.
We were in heaven walking up and down the aisles looking at all the junk discarded by humanity. I know if we happened to be looking for a certain part or an obsolete item we would surely find it here. When we got inside we forgot all about the missile and just walked around, almost in a stupor, looking at all the wonderful junk to be had so conveniently.
There were motorcycles, bicycles, sinks, car parts, truck parts, every kind of hardware you might be searching for. There was even a junkyard dog but I was so busy oohing and aahing at all the junk I forgot to take his photo. At first I was afraid to pet him thinking he might be vicious, but he was a real charmer. I'll get a photo of him next time I go; I'm sure I'll be going back.
It doesn't look like it, but there was actually an order to all the junk. I found out by asking for some flat rusty steel and was pointed in the direction of the rows and rows of rusty stock. Of course Gary told the owner I was an eccentric artist and that's why I wanted the rusty metal. The owner said he doubted I was eccentric at all, compared to the other artists who frequent there. Ha. I found myself wondering about those other artists and wanting to meet them.
Pictured below is the stash I got at the junkyard. I'm hoping to use some of this metal with my ceramic flowers, juxtaposing the smooth glazed surface with the rough rusty metal. I am wondering if the spar urethane I purchased will protect the rusty metal from flaking off. I know my friend Cindy in Alaska, metal sculptor extraordinaire, would know how to work with rusty metal, and I know she would be in heaven walking through this junkyard.
Did I mention this junkyard is in Floral City? The owner said the junkyard has been there for forty years. I thought it was such a coincidence to find the most wonderful junkyard in Floral City since I'm making flowers now. The city was named because of the abundance of wild flowers which grow there. If you have any advice working with rusty metal, please let me know. Stay tuned for more about Floral City and more flowers coming up real soon.
hi linda, i love places like that, we used to look for them when i was in sculpture school. i guess there's a couple shows on tv about people that go from one to another looking for good junk.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim, thanks, this was the best junkyard I have ever been to, so unassuming too. no big signs only a handwriten one on the gate, they are open 9 to 2 pm and if you want it you can find it there. I wish I was in sculpture school now, there is a lot I'd like to know.
ReplyDeleteWe have a place like that near Charlotte too. Clines Salvage. My Sis introduced me to it a couple of months ago. I could spend a month or two scavenging the enormous piles there. Good stuff. Much inspiration.
ReplyDeleteNew treasure!
ReplyDeleteHi Becky, thanks, I was so inspired by all the rusty metal, a bit like going to a workshop, need time to digest it all.
ReplyDeleteHi Patricia, thanks, just what I need is more treasures. Thankfully I only got a litte and the price was very reasonable. Gary didn't even squawk.
When I was a teen and lived on a private lake, my best friend and I would sometimes tour the local dump to cheer teen angst. One of us would say, "I'm depressed, lets go rummage in the dump." It was effective therapy.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we would bring home the same junk our parents had dumped out.
Enjoy your treasures and give them new life.
There's nothing to do with LinkedIn. It just kinda sits there. However, the article in the Wall Street Journal gave it a positive report. I've got my chapbook coming out in Sept. Who knows? Maybe the right person will see my profile. I look upon my chapbook like a treasure in a "junkyard" - it's not a treasure until the right person comes along.
ReplyDeleteI love this. Junkyards are great fun and it's always interesting that the owner knows right where everything is. What a good time. Nice tie-ins with your art and I, too, would love to meet the other eccentric artists who visit.
ReplyDeleteHi Patti, thanks, you know you may have hit it on the head, the junkyard is therapy, just in the looking and finding, Gary wants to go there and spend a day with our neighbor friend.
ReplyDeleteHi Kittie, thanks, yes you have spoken some true works, it's not a treasure till the right person comes along, the more contacts the better chance of the right one I guess, thanks again.
Hi Teresa, thanks, I may have to go there occasionally in the hopes of meeting some of those artists. I was drooling over those metal chairs thinking I could make some covered seats for them and put them in the garden, but I held myself back.
I loved your photos today. I know nothing about working with rusty metal other than to say wear thick gloves. I grew up in an age when we were taught not to go barefoot for fear of stepping on rusty nails. Something dreadful, I can't rememeber what, was sure to happen if we did. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH! BE STILL MY HEART!!! that is my kind of place!! Alaska is such a young state we don't have near that kind of wonderful place :o) Look at all those treasures -how did you not bring home those chairs, those rims, those tanks, those...... !!
ReplyDeletexo
Hi Mary, thanks, I think it is tetanus you can get from stepping on a rusty nail, I was warned about that when I was young too.
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, thanks, I knew you would love this place, I was thinking of you while I was there and knew you would be inspired by all the junk. How can I treat the metal to keep it from flaking off? I bought some spar urethane, will that work?
Hi Linda, do you remember the name of this business or where it was located in Floral City by any chance?
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, Do you happen to remember where this is located in Floral City?
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