Rookie sculptor debuts at Art in the Sawmill

Craig Bakay | Aug 07, 2019

Dan Desjardins welds old pieces of metal together to make animals, birds, flowers, etc.

And this past weekend, he made his art world debut at Art in the Sawmill, Verona’s summer visual arts showcase.

He’s a rookie at this, but like a baseball rookie, he had a veteran to whom he could turn for advice and guidance.

“Mac (The Pine Man) McCormac introduced me to this,” Desjardins said. “This is my first as an exhibitor but I was here last year with him, to see what it was like.”

Desjardins and McCormac go way back. Both were bus drivers in the Kingston Transit Service and retired about the same time.

Now Desjardins does have something else to put in the time during his retirement. He plays guitar in the Swift Kick Blues Band. The constructive sculpting came about as a bit of serendipity.

“The welding I do is mostly a hobby,” he said. “About a year ago, my sister asked me to make her a couple of figurines and it just sort of carried on from there.

“I’ll see something and say to myself, ‘I can make something out of that, like birds, turtles, masks.”

He said old pieces of metal seem to bring out his creative side.

“I like to create,” he said. “I’ll find a a piece of metal — or a shovel, and I envision what I can do with it.

“This is bringing out my artsy side.”

But early on in the show, he’s also finding another aspect he’s enjoying.

“I like to mingle and meet with people,” he said. “They ask me what’s going on and where I get my inspiration from.

“And this is a good starting point to find out what people are interested in.”