On a bluff overlooking a tree-studded golf course in Wilder, Idaho, is a rough corrugated work shed where scrap iron and outdated tools are reshaped, welded and transformed into timeless works of art. The artist whose imagination resuscitates the rusty, beautifies the broken and distinguishes the discarded is sculptor Jerry Brooks.

In Brooks' world, a sunflower blooms eternally with metal petals and leaves welded on wiry stems. A quartet of birds reveals personalities reminiscent of animated cartoons and looks ready to take flight or do the chicken dance. A shovel blade forms the body of a rara avis. Teeth from two rakes become outstretched wings. A giant dragonfly with wings of burnished copper-colored metal soars into the sky. Dragonflies are not an uncommon sight at Boise's Parkcenter Pond, but Brooks' 40-pound metal behemoth that welcomes patrons to the restaurant Barbacoa always draws attention.

"When I see a piece of rusted metal or parts of machinery that have been bent and worn by time and the elements, I sometimes see a picture in my mind of what they could become—how they could become pieces of art," Brooks says.

"I have always been interested in doing some form of art ever since I can remember," says Brooks. In the spring of 2003, a farrier gave Brooks his first materials. "I had a bucket of used Idaho horseshoes. I bought an acetylene torch, vise and hammers and went to work," he says. "Having a welding background, the welding part came easy. The idea part came a little harder. But after a few false starts, it all started to come together."

Using skills he learned as a pipefitter and welder, Brooks first designed playful cowboy-shaped wine racks and candle holders out of horseshoes in 2003, but he soon turned to nature for inspiration. The coffee table in his living room is covered with reference works and nature books, including Amazing Insects by Michael Chinery, Insects Revealed by Jacques de Tonnancour, Collins Birds of Prey by Benny Gensbol and the artist's all-time favorite, Gray's Anatomy, originally published in 1858. While reading on his chocolate brown leather couch, Brooks can look out floor-to-ceiling windows that grace one wall of his log home's living room to views of the Snake River and Owyhee Mountains in the distance.

"The main art that inspires me is Mother Nature," says Brooks. "I'm also inspired by metal artist Bernie Jestrabek-Hart and Western wildlife artist Zella Strickland." Two masks Brooks has created indicate the influence of Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch as well.

To obtain his raw materials, Brooks goes to swap meets looking for disc blades, shears, grass clippers, chains and other metal tools. He works mostly in mild black steel. "For the dragonflies, black pipe makes the body, and the wings are flat steel. The base is a disc blade," Brooks explains. "The rocking bird is made with black pipe, sheet metal, a rock; the headdress is a tang of an old pitchfork or some other found object."

At his studio, a Kokopelli-inspired door reveals Brooks' roots in the Southwest. Born in Arizona in 1940, Brooks remembers his early childhood on a cow ranch on the Virgin River northeast of Las Vegas. "There I played like Huck Finn, running the river bottom and letting my imagination run wild," Brooks says.

After living all over the West, Brooks has called Idaho home since 2002. "Idaho is still unspoiled by the influence of large cities," he says. "People here have a big heart and a smile on their face. They treat interlopers like me great." He set up a studio soon after his arrival and started creating his work.

"My first real shop was an old grain silo on my daughter Amanda's property," says Brooks. "In the winter of 2003-2004, I cut a door in it and hauled in what equipment I had—which wasn't much—and spent one cold winter freezing my fingers."

Since 2006, he's worked in a shop at his own house wielding a meg welder, a gas torch, a plasma cutter, grinders, hammers and other metal-working tools. Brooks still has a heating problem, but the cold doesn't deter him from pursuing his art. "It evolved out of wanting to do more than just make wine holders out of horseshoes. Little by little, I moved into experimenting with different shapes, finding used shovels, rakes, pitchforks and other farm implements."

Using a saw, he trims away the material that he wants to use, then turns the rough edges into new geometric forms. Applying a little heat to melt the work pieces, shapes coalesce, and parts are joined. A new creature emerges under Brooks' guidance. With a twist and a hook, a fish springs from the welding torch in his workshop.

Brooks started showing his "Rusty Art" in 2003. He has traveled to fairs in the past but now mainly sells at the Capitol City Public Market in Boise. His work is also shown at the Caldwell Art Gallery. The most popular pieces are the cattails and dragonflies that feature four foot wingspans. Other pieces include sunflowers, pelicans, chickens, flying ducks and some quirky birds of Brooks' imagination.

"My favorite piece is probably the one I haven't started yet but have been thinking about for a long time," muses Brooks. "I spend a lot of time thinking about something I would like to do. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. It gives me a great feeling of satisfaction when it all comes together."

See more at www.rustyart.com