Dragon Sculpture Made of License Plates a Sight to Behold

Deveren B. Farley, an artist based in Utah, creates huge sculptures. One of them, a tribute to his father, casts long shadows in the town square of Bountiful in his home state. Named Dad, it is a colorful dragon covered in license plates. Approximately 1,100 of them, along with wings made from street signs. He sits sleeping, hands on his belly.

Bountiful Mayor Kendalyn Harris said in a news article, “I’ve been really surprised at how many people love it and how many people have come back to see it and posted about it.”

Other sculptures he’s done, currently sprinkled around Utah and the West, include a giant spider, a family tree, and, on a smaller scale, guitars. They are composed from scrap metal and many, like Dad, feature license plates.

Farley grew up in Citrus Heights, California. Encouraged by his sister’s recommendation, he got into metal shop in high school. There he came under the tutelage of Steve Hamilton, a sculptor himself. Farley wanted to build a Go-Kart; Hamilton advised against that due to the time and cost involved, but encouraged him to do the required material, then do what he wanted. As a sophomore in high school, Farley built a three-foot tall dragon which would later serve as a model for Dad.

After a two-year mission in Mexico, Farley visited a friend in Utah, where he met his wife. His mother-in-law, an interior designer, suggested he set up a shop there. Now in his early 30s, Farley and his wife have four children. He still has a shop where over the years he’s produced curtain rods, fencing, wall décor, and more. And somewhere along the way, he had an epiphany.

“At my metal shop, seeing this stuff go to scrapyard, I didn’t like that it was getting thrown away,” he remarks. “I love collecting stuff and turning new life into it.”

 

Farley also collects material from estate sales, thrift stores, and garage sales. But the plates? That’s a more unusual story. Most of them – including all those that glitter under the sun in Bountiful – come from the Salt Lake City Police Department Evidence Unit.

He initially went there to get a bid for putting bars on windows and saw bins of plates amidst a huge section of items that were destined to be sorted and eventually disposed of. It took about a year, but Farley convinced them to let him re-use the plates for his endeavors. A worker there realized it would save the department money, and now every five or six months, the artist receives another haul. Sometimes there’s buckets of plates or other scrap items sitting outside his shop because people are aware of what he does.

Dad took about a month to complete. While working on a piece, periods of frenzied activity are the norm.

“I get engulfed in it; I want to keep working on it and build more.”

On a typical day when he’s busy on a piece he’ll wake up at his usual time of 5 a.m., work out, make his kids breakfast, and head into the shop, finally re-emerging late in the night, with only a short break somewhere in between. A couple times a year, when there’s a deadline, he’ll throw on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and work around the clock.

Farley has ADHD and calls himself a “serial entrepreneur.” He owns the Yellowstone Golf Resort in Ashton, Idaho. His art is incorporated into the frisbee golf cages there and he built a stage for live music events. 

“With me and my ADHD I need to be out doing stuff,” Farley comments. “I like working with my hands, I’m a physical person.”

His work includes the massive kind like Dad, and custom-made projects for individuals. The guitars highlight his appreciation of music. Other custom-made pieces include a replica of a drag racing car and a sheep made of tools.

Early in his career, his mother-in-law suggested he fill a void in a staircase in a home she had been working on with a large work of art. A gallery owner saw it, leading Farley to work with galleries. About 10 years ago, he branched off into public art, which he enjoys more.

Farley’s goal is to become a full-time artist. He felt that transition happening in 2019, then COVID hit, and everything slowed down. He’s been building it back up since, believing that the large pieces are the best way to get his name out there while his daughter helps him with social media.

“I want people to want my stuff. Some artists just build and don’t care whether or not it’s purchased. I’ve never wanted to be a person who’s financially unstable. I believe that I could support myself just by my art, but I like paying my bills.”

He credits his mom for the work ethic, as well as his grandmother for instilling an appreciation for art. He describes his father as a “typical nerd,” pocket protector and all, who was into mythical pursuits like Dungeons and Dragons. Religious beliefs informed him that after death there was lots to do. A newer piece by Farley, entitled “Off to Work,” is a different take on the dragon – fully awake, even a little mean-looking, feeding his belief that his dad’s “on the other side getting stuff done.”

Dad is indicative of the mission statements on his website: “My sculptures are made from old tools, recycled metal, and scraps of metal because I embrace the idea of simple living and conserving and recycling our resources…My sculptures invite people to release their preconceived definitions of the artifacts of life, and look at the world around them in alternative ways.”

Visited: October 2024