Page 23 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2024

exhibit at her Century Hall gallery, and I sold a major piece at the opening reception,” Walrod recalls. “That encouraged me to try some local art fairs; the first was Art in the Pass in 2013 where I sold nearly every piece. My second art fair was the Peter Anderson Festival where I won the prestigious Creative Artist award. I have been hooked ever since.”
Walrod looks for inspiration in art books and by watching TV art shows. “I also frequently travel to museums, galleries, and antique stores across the country,” he says, “and I use Instagram and Facebook to find fellow artists and interesting art.”
Studying this way, he takes notes and writes down ideas. But, he says his biggest sources of inspiration are the interesting old found objects themselves. “I search for old, odd, high-quality relics that have been abandoned and reimagine them as part of something new such as a wiener dog sculpture.”
He answers yes and no when asked if there are any problems finding items to use. “The world is drowning in junk and trash, so the available pile of material is sometimes overwhelming, swamping me and my art studio,” he said. “I find
material at flea markets, yard sales, estate sales, junk yards, and antique stores and material laying on the side of the roads and old junk piles in the woods.”
Then too, some folks regularly donate stuff they don’t need, but don’t want to throw away. “Despite this fact, I constantly run into certain size, shape, material, and/or colors that I need for a specific sculpture part, but don’t have, and can spend months searching for the right object,” he says.
“In fact, I am currently struggling to find some lightweight black and white metal pieces that are the right size and shape for a commission of a pet named Peanut who is black with white highlights. As such, my work is largely driven by serendipity – what I find and when I find it.”
He encourages readers to support local
secondhand shops and thrift stores; to reuse, recycle, and repurpose stuff whenever possible. “Landfills are overflowing across the planet, polluting water, soil, air, flora, fauna, and our own bodies,” he says. “We are being buried by throw-away consumerism and cheap toxic disposable products. Please support your local artists who turn old junk into new art!”
Walrod grew up in Orange Grove, attended Harrison Central High School and sends a shout out to retired science teacher Mr. Leuenberger.
Readers can see his art at a dozen art shows each year across the region. He is represented at South Mississippi retailers including Coastal Magpie, Mississippi Antique Galleria, and Antique Maison. To get updates on shows and exhibits, follow him on Instagram @WalrodArt or Facebook @ SteampunkCuriosities.
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