When Rick Hartner was working in curbside recycling and composting, he started using discarded materials to create life-size caricatures. He soon left behind his composting career and took recycling to a whole new level. His life-size metal sculptures are eclectic, adventurous and witty and are meant to evoke a smile--or outright laughter.
Using rusted sheet metal and old shelving, Rick not only creates characters but wall hangings, artistic water fountains and furniture. For his caricatures, he begins with a base and works from the ground up, fabricating parts and adding them to the sculpture as he goes. Rick must first clean the old rusty metal by scraping or burning off old paint and debris. Then he cuts the metal into workable pieces using a plasma cutter. He begins with the soles of the feet. By heating, hammering, bending...he works his way up, welding the metal together. Once the feet are done, he works on the legs, from the ankle on--heating, hammering, bending--until he's completed the project and a life-size creation stands before him! When bending the metal, he usually bends it around various forms until he creates just the shape he's looking for. When heating his material, he actually uses a blow torch and must be careful not to burn a hole right through his subject. Rick even embellishes many of his works by fusing copper and brass to the heated base metal--a method he developed himself.
Rick doesn't believe that art has to be mysterious; there doesn't have to be a hidden meaning. His goal is to create sculptures that exude a personal touch and transport the viewer to a place within our imagination. Rick believes you should never stop being a kid! And when you see Rick Hartner's work, you can clearly see he has never stopped.
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