Something's weird on Gilead Road - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

News(Above) Reeder is able to replicateintricate details with his artwork asshown in his recreation of the U.S.S.Enterprise from the TV show “StarTrek.” (RIght) Benny Reeder at hisworkbench in welding gear.Weird(continued from page 1)wire welding, and torch welding.“I’m pretty well self-taught in everythingI’ve done.”Benny produces strange artisticcreations as one part of hisbusiness, and does fabricationsand repair work as another. “Iused to do paint and body – carwork – but that slowed down toomuch. So I just started makingstuff for people,” Reeder said.“I’ve always had an edge for makingstuff for people.” This morninghe’s working on a frame for aportable toilet that a construction contractorwants to move from job site tojob site, but last night he fiddled witha morning star flail, a Medieval meleeweapon with a spiked ball hangingfrom a chain. “I started (artistic work)back yonder when O.J. (Simpson) gotin trouble,” Reeder said of his 1994 artwork.“I was on my way to Elizabeth,Tenn., to do an art show, and he wasgetting into that police chase, that’s thereason I remember.”He has also made strange combinationsof form and function. “I made amailbox a while backfor this guy; it lookedlike a big ‘ol catfish,”Want to buy some?See Benny’s Yard Art by visitinghis home at 9415 GileadRoad or call 704-875-2994.Reeder remembers.“The whole head pullsdown, and you can’teven tell it’s a mailbox.”Waiting to be sold is a tailgater’sdream, a complete outdoor cookingrig ready to be hitched to the back of atruck that Reeder has dubbed the “RedneckGrill.” It has a barbeque, charcoaland restaurant-style grill, deep fryer,cooler, and a metal figurine driving atthe front. Reeder’s own lawnmowerlooks like it could hold its own in a tractorpull, with two tall chrome mufflersand tires bigger than those on the averagefour-door sedan.Reeder’s artistic approach and influencesare simple, but make for amazingresults. He often draws inspiration frommovies. In the front yard he’s placedhis take on the Batpod, Batman’s motorcyclefrom “The Dark Knight,” andhis version of the Starship Enterprisethat he can light up at night. “I just like<strong>weird</strong> stuff. If somebody else has got it,I don’t want it,” he said about his methods.“I like to make something up, youknow.” Adding that last element of functionalityto his work is a running themewith the yard art. The dinosaurs by theroad have inconspicuous propane tanksnearby, and tubing connected throughtheir skeletons up to their jaws to allowthem to breathe fire.The biggest thing he’ssold was a functioning,powered merrygo-round.Business is actuallygoing well for Benny’s Yard Art Weldingin the recession. He hasn’t seen a decreasein either his repair work or artwork.“I’ve been staying pretty busy. I’vebeen pretty lucky,” Reeder said. “I figuredI’d be doing good because peoplehaven’t got money to buy anything, sothey need to repair it.”Benny is open for all kinds of jobs, andeverything you can see from the roadand more is for sale, anywhere from$5 for small art pieces up to $1,000for one of the big dinosaurs. He’ll eventake scrap metal off your hands.Who knows what he’ll do with it, he said,probably “make something <strong>weird</strong>.” qPaul Lascara/Herald photoPage 14 • The Herald Weekly • Jan. 15-21, 2010Ad Publication Date: 11.14.08Phone: 704-766-2100 Fax: 704-992-0801 Email: ads@huntersvilleherald.comwww.huntersvilleherald.com