OTCA Communications Director Danielle Cooke said the purpose of Scrapfest is to have local art enthusiasts create environmentally sustainable sculptures by repurposing items many people might consider garbage.

“This is a green event — it’s all recycled scrap metal,” Cooke said. “It’s really unique and a lot of fun.”

Artists had about one hour Saturday to collect as much as 500 pounds of metal for their creative piece. Throughout the next two weeks, every team will use the objects they collected to create an original work of art.

Once they are completed, the sculptures will be displayed and auctioned off at Old Town’s annual Festival of the Moon & Festival of the Sun on June 22 and 23. Cooke said by showcasing their pieces at this event, which attracts a large crowd every year, Scrapfest artists are able to share their work with individuals who might not come across it otherwise.

“By holding (Scrapfest) in conjunction (with the festival), we would get a lot of people to see these sculptures,” she said. “We introduce thousands of people to a new type of art in the Lansing area.”

The starting gate
As the clock neared 1 p.m. Saturday, Lansing resident Larry Stump eagerly waited behind the gate to the scrapyard for it to open so he could begin digging through the heaps of metal piled up on the other side.

Stump, a member of the team Arc-Angels, who has participated in Scrapfest three times, said he enjoys the spontaneous and mysterious nature of the event.

“You don’t know what your materials are going to be until you pull them out of there,” Stump said. “There are a lot of questions in your mind as to what you’re going to find.”

Stump, who always comes to the event with a solid vision of what he hopes to create, already has experienced much success in the competition, winning the People’s Choice Award twice and coming in second place last year.

But this year, the Scrapfest veteran changed up his game plan. Rather than coming to the scrapyard knowing what his final piece will look like and collecting items accordingly, Stump said he and his teammates began gathering materials without knowing what they planned to do with them later.
“This year we’re just shooting from the hip,” he said.

The process
The husband-and-wife team of Robert and Lori Welton — also Scrapfest experts ­— took an entirely different approach than Stump this time around.

Before arriving to the scrapyard on Saturday, the pair, both DeWitt, Mich., residents and members of Iron on the Move, came up with two potential ideas they planned to execute.

“I think I have everything I need to do what I have in mind,” Robert Welton said.

Lansing resident Melissa Riba, one of Team Redhead’s four members, also said she and her teammates typically come to the scrapyard prepared with a design concept, although sometimes they are forced to alter it based on the materials they accumulate.

“We have to be flexible and see what we can work with and what we have,” she said. “In the end we end up being pretty close to the original plan.”

Riba said she and her group members expect to dedicate two or three hours a day for the next two weeks to building their piece.

“It’s pretty intense,” Riba said. “You (have) got to do this thing with people that you like because you’re going to be working with them and practically living with them for a while.”

Robert Welton, who works as a welder at MSU, said every year he takes two weeks off from his job to focus his energy on the competition. He said he needs as much time as he can get to make sure he is satisfied with his final product.

“It works out perfectly,” Robert Welton said. “It gives me plenty of time, that way I can perfect it just the way I want it.”

The payoff
After countless hours of work, each artist will show off their masterpiece to the public and potentially be awarded a cash prize of $1,000, $500 or $300 if their creation is chosen as one of the three best.

Robert Welton said the opportunity to see how people react to his piece at the Festival of the Moon & Festival of the Sun is one of his favorite parts of Scrapfest.

“I like to stand back and watch people look at it and smile or be sad and see different reactions,” Robert Welton said.

For Lori Welton, her enjoyment comes from examining the work of her competitors. While the pieces are on display, she is able to view them while other artists study hers as well.

“I like to see what everyone else does too,” Lori Welton said.