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January-March 2016
Interview Everett Grondin Interviewed by Diane C. Taylor |
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Everett Grondin: Shedding Anonymity
by Diane C. Taylor (DCT)
by Diane C. Taylor (DCT)
Everett Grondin and friend
Tucson has many fine sculptors working in metals. Without realizing it, you’ve probably seen a lot of work by Everett Grondin, one of the Metal Arts Village artists. Recently I visited him in his studio there.
Diane C. Taylor (DCT): I read on your website that you’re a Tucson native.
Everett Grondin (EG): Yes, I was born and raised in Tucson, went to school in Marana.
DCT: And then?
EG: I had a friend who went to college at the University of Idaho. I wanted to get away, so I went there, too. It was a small school that offered more opportunities faster than the university here. I was interested in animal sciences, and I got to work in a lab as a freshman.
[click on all images to enlarge]
Diane C. Taylor (DCT): I read on your website that you’re a Tucson native.
Everett Grondin (EG): Yes, I was born and raised in Tucson, went to school in Marana.
DCT: And then?
EG: I had a friend who went to college at the University of Idaho. I wanted to get away, so I went there, too. It was a small school that offered more opportunities faster than the university here. I was interested in animal sciences, and I got to work in a lab as a freshman.
[click on all images to enlarge]
Everett Grondin
DCT: Animal sciences?
EG: I thought I wanted to become a veterinarian, but after two or three semesters, I realized that wasn’t for me. I changed to public relations and advertising. I worked in radio, then I had a job with Nissan in the marketing department, even though I never did finish a degree.
DCT: Eventually you came back to Tucson…
EG: Yes, in the late 1970s / early 1980s. It was a recession, and northern Idaho was hit especially hard and had no jobs. I ended up back in Tucson, where I sold RVs (recreational vehicles) and boats for a while. Then I got jobs in construction and by the mid-80s had set up my own construction company.
About 15 years ago, I decided to do only metal work, with art for fun. I made all kind of gates and fences, working with contractors, especially custom builders. That was great during the boom. During that time I got a job, doing metal work at the Marriott Starr Pass. I still do work for the hotel, along with various other hotels. This happened because the managers at Starr Pass move on to other hotels, but they still give me contracts. I’ve just completed work for the Marriott hotels in Santa Clara, California, and on Puget Sound, near Seattle.
DCT: But you’re creating art as well?
EG: About six years ago, I moved to the Metal Arts Village. In fact, it was six years ago – on December 15, 2009, that the complex here opened. I decided to reinvent myself. My work was known but anonymous, since I don’t sign anything in the hotels. Now I’m working for individuals instead of contractors. It’s more interesting, because I get to work with people to see what they want directly, instead creating something on spec and hoping someone will see it, like it and buy it.
I still make my living off commissions, for things like fences and gates. However, my fences are different, special. For example, one yard overlooks the mountains. I took some photos. If you sit and look at the mountains, the shape of the fence matches the shape of the mountains.
EG: I thought I wanted to become a veterinarian, but after two or three semesters, I realized that wasn’t for me. I changed to public relations and advertising. I worked in radio, then I had a job with Nissan in the marketing department, even though I never did finish a degree.
DCT: Eventually you came back to Tucson…
EG: Yes, in the late 1970s / early 1980s. It was a recession, and northern Idaho was hit especially hard and had no jobs. I ended up back in Tucson, where I sold RVs (recreational vehicles) and boats for a while. Then I got jobs in construction and by the mid-80s had set up my own construction company.
About 15 years ago, I decided to do only metal work, with art for fun. I made all kind of gates and fences, working with contractors, especially custom builders. That was great during the boom. During that time I got a job, doing metal work at the Marriott Starr Pass. I still do work for the hotel, along with various other hotels. This happened because the managers at Starr Pass move on to other hotels, but they still give me contracts. I’ve just completed work for the Marriott hotels in Santa Clara, California, and on Puget Sound, near Seattle.
DCT: But you’re creating art as well?
EG: About six years ago, I moved to the Metal Arts Village. In fact, it was six years ago – on December 15, 2009, that the complex here opened. I decided to reinvent myself. My work was known but anonymous, since I don’t sign anything in the hotels. Now I’m working for individuals instead of contractors. It’s more interesting, because I get to work with people to see what they want directly, instead creating something on spec and hoping someone will see it, like it and buy it.
I still make my living off commissions, for things like fences and gates. However, my fences are different, special. For example, one yard overlooks the mountains. I took some photos. If you sit and look at the mountains, the shape of the fence matches the shape of the mountains.
Everett Grondin
DCT: Your move to the Metal Arts Village was a good one?
EG: Yes. Our monthly Full Moon events have become a tradition. We usually have around 200 people here, even in summer. Individual artists used to provide food for visitors, but now we have food trucks and live music. I’m usually working on some project. I’ve gotten some leads from people who watch me during the event.
DCT: Looking around your studio, it looks like you recycle a lot….
EG: For art, half the fun is finding the stuff to work with. It’s the really fun part – especially when people like it and buy it. I cut up tanks and fire extinguishers and make bells from them. I used to sand blast the tanks and make them pretty. Then one time I didn’t bother, just cut the fire extinguisher up the way it was. It sold immediately – so, now I don’t clean them up any more
EG: Yes. Our monthly Full Moon events have become a tradition. We usually have around 200 people here, even in summer. Individual artists used to provide food for visitors, but now we have food trucks and live music. I’m usually working on some project. I’ve gotten some leads from people who watch me during the event.
DCT: Looking around your studio, it looks like you recycle a lot….
EG: For art, half the fun is finding the stuff to work with. It’s the really fun part – especially when people like it and buy it. I cut up tanks and fire extinguishers and make bells from them. I used to sand blast the tanks and make them pretty. Then one time I didn’t bother, just cut the fire extinguisher up the way it was. It sold immediately – so, now I don’t clean them up any more
Everett Grondin
DCT: You have a bunch of snakes, too.
EG: Some were made by my son, who’s 23 and works with me. He’s got his welding certificate from Pima Community College. I make the little rattlesnakes, which are Z coil springs from shoes. The company contacted me because someone there knew I liked to recycle metal.
DCT: That might go along with solving problems, which I also read about on your website.
EG: I specialize in making things that either can’t be found or that need to fit a particular application. For example, I made the enclosure for the Salud (bar) at the Starr Pass Marriott. I not only made the panels but also designed the track and the rollers for the panels. The challenge was making the rollers small but heavy duty. The panels are opened and closed twice each day. I figure out to make things work.
DCT: You have pieces at the Humane Society, too, I’ve heard.
EG: Yes, a totem in front of the spay and neuter clinic. It was this piece, funded by the Tucson Pima Arts Council, that got me noticed by the manager of the Starr Pass Marriott. It also has solar-powered LED lights, a real challenge to design at the time. I also have contributed to their fundraising auctions.
One piece I made for one of the auctions was a windmill that really pumps water. I have a real admiration for the people who made those old windmills. Mine was just over half the size of the old ones, and it could also pump water. Because of its size, I couldn’t use parts from the store. I figured it would only take me a day to make the pump, but in the end it took me two or three weeks to get it to work the way I wanted it to. But when I accomplish something like this, it feels good. I like to work to make things that are unique, where I have to make it work. The challenge makes it fun. That particular piece, though, ended up in the desert someplace where cows are the only viewers,
EG: Some were made by my son, who’s 23 and works with me. He’s got his welding certificate from Pima Community College. I make the little rattlesnakes, which are Z coil springs from shoes. The company contacted me because someone there knew I liked to recycle metal.
DCT: That might go along with solving problems, which I also read about on your website.
EG: I specialize in making things that either can’t be found or that need to fit a particular application. For example, I made the enclosure for the Salud (bar) at the Starr Pass Marriott. I not only made the panels but also designed the track and the rollers for the panels. The challenge was making the rollers small but heavy duty. The panels are opened and closed twice each day. I figure out to make things work.
DCT: You have pieces at the Humane Society, too, I’ve heard.
EG: Yes, a totem in front of the spay and neuter clinic. It was this piece, funded by the Tucson Pima Arts Council, that got me noticed by the manager of the Starr Pass Marriott. It also has solar-powered LED lights, a real challenge to design at the time. I also have contributed to their fundraising auctions.
One piece I made for one of the auctions was a windmill that really pumps water. I have a real admiration for the people who made those old windmills. Mine was just over half the size of the old ones, and it could also pump water. Because of its size, I couldn’t use parts from the store. I figured it would only take me a day to make the pump, but in the end it took me two or three weeks to get it to work the way I wanted it to. But when I accomplish something like this, it feels good. I like to work to make things that are unique, where I have to make it work. The challenge makes it fun. That particular piece, though, ended up in the desert someplace where cows are the only viewers,
Everett Grondin
You can find Everett Grondin at Metal Arts Village
3230 N. Dodge Blvd. (studio k), Tucson
www.doglix.com
3230 N. Dodge Blvd. (studio k), Tucson
www.doglix.com
