Welder creates art from work scrap

Figure 1
This “seahorse” is a one-of-a-kind sculpture from welder/artist Bruno Roy.

Meet the two lives of welder Bruno Roy. As an assembler and welder for Laval, Que.-based Show Canada, he works on specialty architectural and theatrical fabrications that end up in places like Cirque du Soleil shows and the Wynn Hotels and Casinos. As an artist, he uses his welding skills to create amazing sculptures that reflect his passion for art and love of nature.

The use of recycled materials in his industrial art projects is important because Roy sees the conservation of material as one of his biggest creative motivators.

“It’s important for me to recycle matter, so I take a lot of pieces that they’re going to throw in the garbage at work. I try to reuse all these materials and make something of it,” he said. “I try to give them a new life.”

Of these recycled materials, Roy often works with steel, stainless steel, and occasionally aluminum. In addition, he’ll use discarded mechanical pieces such as gears and bearings. One of his sculptures, which features the head of a seahorse on the body of a land horse (see Figure 1), is made partially from stainless washers. The washers are tack-welded using gas metal arc welding because they are so small. Roy said he also gas tungsten arc welds art projects depending on the material to be welded.

Roy’s introduction to art began at a young age. His father was a skilled artist, and Roy learned to draw and paint early on because of his influence. His first experience with welding occurred during his first job working on a boat in 1989. That experience inspired him to learn more about welding.

“In this sense, [I’ve been] a welder [for] 30 years,” he said.

Later in 1997 Roy went back to school to pursue a baccalaureate in visual arts, taking night classes in metal and wood sculpture, painting, and drawing. He found those classes allowed him to not only hone his talent as an artist, but also improve his skills as a welder.

Roy said his art is meant to communicate specific messages or themes to a larger audience, primarily about recycling and ecological awareness. Roy singled out one sculpture, a figure of a head wearing a gas mask (see Figure 2), as one of his favorites.

“I like it because it’s sending a message about pollution and all the ecological matter and recycled matter at the same time,” he said.

Roy said eventually he hopes to see some of his art featured in places where lots of people can view it, perhaps even a scaled-up version to make a much larger impact.

Figure 2
What might look like just a head in a gas mask is also a statement about keeping the air free of pollutants.

“I dream of one day having my own workshop,” he said.

His boss allows him to work on his sculptures at work in his free time, which Roy said is a great opportunity for him to combine both work and personal interest at the same time. He added that this ability to move from his daily responsibilities directly into his artistic ambitions stimulates his creativity.

Show Canada gets something out of the relationship with Roy as well. With so many years of welding experience under his belt, Roy acts as a mentor to the younger welders and as a project leader.

“I’m coaching the younger welders and the team around me,” he said. “I instruct on how I want them to do their parts, and I’m building the jigs we’re going to work with.”

When he’s not in an industrial setting, Roy seeks out the natural world, where he can find even more inspiration. It’s another theme that finds its way into his paintings.

“Very often I’m in the woods when I have a vacation, and I get my inspiration there,” Roy said.

Roy sells his art through a local government program that is charged with finding and building art for the municipalities of Quebec. Roy said the program is very competitive.

“The actual art is mostly conceptual, and sometimes people like or don’t like it,” he said. “I’m trying to make my place.”

Contributing writer Kate Youdell worked as an intern for The FABRICATOR this summer.

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