LUCAS – An exhibition of metal sculptures by Bob Mix are featured in a new exhibit at the Grassroots Art Center, 213 S. Main in Lucas, through April.

Mix, Great Bend, turned his day job as a metal fabricator to his imaginative purposes to create whimsical machines and creatures from metal scraps and cast-offs. At the Art Center, visitors will see an exuberant self-portrait, a quirky record player, small vehicles including a helicopter and a ship, and various other objects from Mix’s observation or imagination. 

Mix said if he understands the structure behind something, he creates his pieces using God’s talent and his time. “You see what you want to do and you just keep building it.”

Metal sculpture he made for the Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend are more true-to-life, including an accurate representation of a hesperonis fossil with a spine made from a drilling rig gear chain. Mix has been making art since 1983. 

The Grassroots Art Center is open from 1-4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through March. In April, open hours expand to Thursday-Saturday and Monday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. 

For group tours or to visit at other times, call 785-525-6118.