Finding Minnesota: Hastings Sculptor Welds Whimsical Steel Artwork

HASTINGS, Minn. (WCCO) – Yes, that's a stainless steel alligator on the roof of Dale Lewis' Honda Civic and, yes, there's a good story behind it.

It's a symbol of how Lewis adapted when hard times hit.

Lewis, 59, and his wife, Carol, were in the business of buying and fixing up homes when the housing crisis began.

With a lot of extra time on his hands, Lewis bought a welding torch and started experimenting with metal sculpting in his work shed.

In the years since, he has created more than 100 whimsical sculptures, including the alligator on his roof, which helps market his artwork.

"Nothing gets the attention that the gator does," he said. "I get a lot of thumbs up, some pictures taken. I can't really drive from here to St. Paul without getting half a dozen or a dozen pictures taken."

Lewis most recently spent four months creating a 10-foot Godzilla sculpture, which is now stationed outside a friend's auto dealership in Vermillion.

His Hastings home features several plant and animal sculptures in the front yard, along with a scrapyard piece resembling the Statue of Liberty.

"Everything, like her arms and neck, are barn cleaner panels out of my retired cousin's dairy farm," he said. "It's the Wilcox dairy farm in Hudson, Wisconsin."

Some of his work is on display at local businesses, including a cactus made from Harley-Davidson mufflers and an octopus from old cell phone tower parts at a Mid-Country Bank branch.

The Affinity Plus credit union in Hastings gets a rotating supply of sculptures. The most recent is a small deer made of spoons.

"When [customers] see something different, they're like, 'Oh, we've got something new in here,'" said branch manager Kari Krummel. "The customers just think it's great."

Lewis is currently working on a commissioned piece: a sculpture of a wolf, made mostly from traps.

He never considered himself an artist before circumstances gave him the time to try. Now, there's no turning back.

"I'm retired now, and I stay busy doing this," he said, "and I don't see how life can get much better than that, you know?"

You can reach Lewis by email at artistdalelewis@gmail.com

Send us your Finding Minnesota ideas here.