Are the sculptures on your website for sale?
Yes and no. Most of the sculptures have been sold. A select few may be available. However we no longer take commissions and just a few large installation pieces are still in circulation.
Where do you get all that flatware?
Bob Hovey was Gary's dad and number one fan. And the source of most of the flatware. He found it at flea markets and garage sales and shipped it to Gary in flat rate boxes. He got a lot in one of those little boxes. We still have a ton of flatware but when Gary needs a large amount of uniform pieces or heavy restaurant grade flatware, we buy it new or used from local sources.
Where do you get ideas for sculptures?
The idea store. Seriously, from people's suggestions, every day life, and things I see. I like to express action and/or attitude.
How did you start doing this?
Many years ago I saw some outdoor sculptures in Wichita, Kansas made out of chrome car bumpers. I thought that a person could do indoor sculptures out of flatware, but I didn’t know how to weld at the time. Eventually, I did get trained in welding, and in January 2004 I made my first flatware sculpture, a running dog.
Can you make something special for me, like my favorite animal?
Many of the pieces in the photo gallery were special requests like that. Unfortunately, we no longer take commissions.
Can you make something from my grandmother's silverware?
Not if it's really silver or silverplate. We could use only stainless steel flatware because of the welding process used. Silver melts at a much lower temperature than stainless steel, so it just gets destroyed by the high heat.