Ex-truck driver's craft 'steels' the show

SCOTTSDALE - Less than three years ago, Kevin Caron drove a 70-foot tractor-trailer for a living.

Next week, however, his steel sculptures will be on display and sold in a Scottsdale gallery.

In January 2006, Caron replaced his trucker hat with a welding helmet and now his metal creations can be found in backyards and public parks across the country.

His latest work will be on display Thursday at Pearson & Company in Scottsdale, 7022 E. Main St. The show, called "Kid at Heart," will open during Scottsdale's ArtWalk, from 7 to 9 p.m., and run through Nov. 8.

The show benefits the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, a Phoenix non-profit that helps homeless and runaway youth.

Caron is donating 10 percent of sales from his show and the gallery is donating 10 percent of all sales made on Thursday and next Saturday.

Caron's show will also include artwork made by four children from the organization's Drop In Center.

The art offers huge psychological benefits to the children and it's exciting for them to see their work recognized in a gallery, said program manager Steven Serrano.

"It's life-changing, it truly is," Serrano said.

The young artists and Caron will be at the gallery on Thursday during ArtWalk and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

How did Caron go from driving a big rig to sculpting?

"We wanted a piece of sculpture at our house, a privacy screen to block off an area in the backyard," he said. "When I finally found the right material and made it, people would come over and look at it and say, 'That's really nice.' And then I thought maybe I can make a fountain, and then people went, 'Can I have one?' "

Now Caron shapes steel into everything from wind chimes and insects to towering blocks of cheese.

The recyclable properties of steel make it Caron's material of choice.

"It's very forgiving," he said. "You can bend it, beat it, shape it, cut it and grind it and when you make a mistake you can weld it back together and start over.

"Eventually it will all be melted down and turned into new steel or it will rust into the ground and go back to where it came from."

Kevin Caron shapes steel into everything from wind chimes and insects to towering blocks of cheese.