When someone finds a knack for something, they tend to hone it into a skill that sets them apart, but then there is Clark County resident Paul Springer, who found his knack with steel.
Springer opted to use steel as his art medium, which has developed into creations of gates, benches, whirligigs and even quite the treehouse. He has been at it for over 20 years now, and his property is dotted with creations he spends multiple days of working on with around-the-clock craftsmanship.
Sometimes, Springer doesn’t quite know how he accomplished certain art pieces, especially years after the fact. Even when he finally lands on a design, oftentimes it will take him quite a while to figure out where to start. But one thing is for certain — how he accomplishes his artwork will likely stay with him forever.
“I’ve done hundreds of pieces, and so of course all us old farts, when we tip over, we’re going to take all that knowledge with us,” Springer said. “It’s kind of a shame because if you rely on that, the problem getting old though, is that you can’t remember what you did. So I’ll be glad to build you one. Just don’t ask me to build two of the same.”
The machinist aspect started around 35 years ago in order to work on his classic cars, Springer said, but that rapidly ascended into creating wacky art. To ascend into the metal art scene, Springer first found himself in a period of life where he needed something to do.
“I got married in ‘03. I had a 50-foot boat,” Springer recalled. “My wife and I went to Alaska for three years in a row and spent all summer in Alaska. A privilege to do so. Unbelievable and, anyway, she could see that my money was dwindling and she thought she needed to get a job, so she ended up getting a job for the city of Battle Ground. Well, then I sold the boat and here I am. ‘What do I do now?’ I had the shop. I had all the machinery, and so I started doing a little bit of metal artwork and kind of had a knack for it. Everything I built sold, you know. Or I liked it for myself.”
Springer also utilizes the pieces of machinery — many of which are rare for a home-shop setting — and thousands of tools for some repair work and still utilizes it for classic car work when needed, but for the most part, metal yard art, gates and a whole lot more in the decor world is what he now focuses on almost every day.
“It’s fun for me,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been retired since 2000, so a lot of years, but I’m not one to sit around too much. And so I liked to keep busy in the shop. It’s a challenge, mentally. You know, how do you figure out this stuff, how to do this stuff, you know? Whether it’s a repair or whether you’re starting from scratch, because everything is truly art. Even if it’s a regular repair on something, I look at it as art.”
With everything coming to Springer as art, even a tree falling and destroying a shop on his property gave way to the biggest art piece he’s done.
After one tree fell, it was time to bring the other two down, which gave way to a trio of trees, and Springer had a vision. His inspiration for a tree house atop three trees happened to be the unique and one-off shape of the Sydney Opera House in Australia, which the 6,000-pound steel tree house does have the slight appearance of. He also assembled a spiral staircase that wraps around a steel support beam that acts as the fourth tree-trunk-like stand.
Springer’s yard is full of fully functioning art, whether it’s the wind that gets them going or even the rain, nearly each art piece has movement.
