Kevin Shaffer
Photo by Bruce Hucko
Kevin Wayne Shaffer was born and raised in a Mid-Western landscape of tall grass prairie and Oak savanna. This place in the Heartland, a work-hard-play-hard ethic was engrained on a horse ranch, and the ever present Prairie Style inspired Kevin’s development to eventually study architecture, land planning, landscape architecture, horticulture, and sculpture.
“For the creation of artwork, design of landscape, a building, a piece of furniture, anything… extracting the context is what inspires my creative process.”
The years of experience and progression in design thought has influenced Kevin’s art and design career to seek a minimalist approach; honest in the details with naturally rich materials. Kevin prefers to join art media and sustainable built environments in a way to inspire ways of living, create environmental awareness, and reduce maintenance and over-management.
“I am interested in creating a dialogue between ecology and human culture in a way that geomorphology can produce a construction detail. I believe what we learn from the un-built environment is the future of our built world.”
Kevin’s design process is a product of project specifics. A common question at the beginning of any project would be, “What is found in the meaning of the context extracted from site specific research?” The research of history and region, responsibilities towards the environment, local culture, and functionality versus aesthetics; these are all important areas of study and time well spent to this transplant with roots now in the United States’ Mountain Time Zone.
Leadville, Co
Box of Rain
Photo by Bruce Hucko
Media: Reclaimed steel, copper, and aluminum
Dimensions: 10-feet height x 2-feet width x 18-inches depth
$5000
"Box of Rain" is about creating awareness around the drought emergency the U.S. West and states like Utah and Colorado are experiencing right now. At the artwalk I would like to talk more about that. This sculpture was made from 100% reclaimed materials refinished and reformed into art media. Three of my signature fabrication methods can be seen on this sculpture: spherical welds, "dragontrails" an engraving technique, and the use of reclaimed materials found at the local landfill metals pile. For the last 2 years I have been painting with acrylics on canvas; I found that painting helped me deal with the loss of my two beloved huskies that I had for 13 and 15 years. Laying down the paint thick and chunky was almost like sculpting for me, and I learned something through this technique that made it's way into "Box of Rain" that seems fitting given it's concept around water; it's what I do not paint... or... it's what I do not weld... that makes the artwork more powerful to me; a bit of a minimalist gesture that becomes the beauty and inspiring piece of art to create.