With a college background in wildlife management, fish, and aquaculture, Everett Hunter of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, came to Hobart Institute to learn more about welding and earn a steady income.  He was originally directed toward college because of a motorcycle accident that resulted in a broken back, pelvis, wrist, and several other bones.  At the time, he really didn’t think he could handle the demands of becoming a construction worker.  Inspired by his mother, Shirley Wilson, who is a registered nurse, Everett chose a field of science that appealed to him.  But he found that positions in his area of interest to be very competitive, seasonal, and not as lucrative as he desired.  And by this time, with the support of a good medical team and his six siblings, his body had healed and he was on a regular exercise curriculum.

Everett had done some farm-type welding and repair on his own motorcycles, so he was familiar with welding and knew he enjoyed the work.  He enrolled in the Combination Structural and Pipe Welding Course and hopes to join his brother, James Preston (AWS-CWI through Hobart Institute) in the Boilermakers Local 667 union in Winfield, West Virginia.

Everett soon found that welding serves his creative instincts as well.  His love of wildlife influences his welded art as he creates turtles, snakes, and trees that grow through the addition of one bead linked to another. 

“I can pick up a piece of tubing and visualize a tree,” explains Everett.  “By adding molten beads for the texturing of the tree and branches, I give it life.” 

A piece of titanium can quickly become a turtle in his hands.

“The heat of the torch against the metal brings out the blues and greens to create more realistic looking scutes (plates) that compose the shell of the turtle,” Everett says.

“Many metal artists create figures through the use of various metal shapes together.  I create shapes through the use of adding molten beads, building the piece as I weld,” says Everett.  That sets his work apart from that of many other artists.

Everett’s creativity isn’t limited to welded art.  He also enjoys playing guitar, banjo, and piano.  He would like to make art his career.

“But for now, I need to earn money to help support my 2 ˝-year-old son,” concludes Everett.    

If you are interested in Everett Hunter’s art, contact him at ezh77@yahoo.com.