Most people look at a pile of scrap metal and see a disposal problem. Ian Ward looks at the problem and sees art. A self-educated metal artist, Ian finds inspiration in pieces and parts most people would toss. In his workshop, sprockets become turtles, ball bearings turn into eyeballs, and trunk springs grow into tall plants.
Ian was born in England, where his father served in the Royal Air Force. The family lived on several bases around the world, eventually ending up at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha when he was a teenager.
After Ian graduated from high school, he returned to England and discovered his U.S. diploma meant nothing. “I was working construction and missing my friends over here, so I came back to spend a summer. A good friend of mine invited me to his sister’s graduation party, and I’m married to her now. Forty-four years.”
Ian works in a local car dealership, and he got tired of sending so much metal to the salvage yard. Instead, he began looking for ways to turn the scrap into sculptures. He started collecting, sorting, sanding, grinding, welding, painting, and dreaming up new ideas. His motto became: reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle.
For twenty years, he worked on various projects, but the idea of a sea horse sculpture kept coming to mind. Finally, he spent several days experimenting in his garage until a discarded flywheel became the graceful body, and the sea horse emerged.
He entered the piece in a 2021 recycled art fair contest. No one was more surprised than Ian when his sea horse won first place. He was even more surprised when someone asked to buy it.
That experience gave him the confidence to continue making and selling art. Recently, Ian helped restore the butterfly benches that are scattered around Papillion. He removed rust, sanded, and prepped the benches before sending them to the Holly Carey Art studio for repainting.
In 2026, when the Papillion Arts Foundation wanted to thank Mayor Black for his many years of service to the city, they presented him with one of Ian’s metal butterflies. It was a fitting tribute.
Ian has donated original pieces to family and friends, local police departments, cancer patients, and various charity and fund-raising events. His work has hung in Papillion City Hall and is on display in the Papillion Arts Foundation gallery at The Landing through September.
Ian continues to experiment with materials and designs, and he sells his work through his Facebook page – Ian’s Metal Art. He is always learning and says that even mistakes can turn into something interesting. When he accidentally ground a couple of holes into one of his large flower designs, Ian looked around the shop for a solution.
He found a couple of bolts to stretch, twist, and paint. They turned into hungry green caterpillars who had obviously chewed holes in the petals. Obviously, Ian sees the world a little differently than some of us, and that’s a great thing.