Spring has come and gone. Summer is on the wane. Mother Nature gently nurtured the seedlings planted in your garden into full bloom. With the exception of weeding and watering, most of your gardening tasks are on hold. Ready to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor? Reflecting on your silver bells and cockleshells all-in-a-row, are you contemplating the addition of another garden element before autumn that will require zero labor?

May I suggest sculpture?

Overlooked and underutilized as a garden element, it can fill an empty space, accentuate the color scheme of existing flowerbeds, or become the focal point of your outdoor area. One’s eye is automatically drawn to outside sculptures, especially larger-than-life-size ones. Statues not only add a lively charm to any garden, but may relay a story or evoke emotional responses.

Have I sparked your interest? Then let me introduce you to John Toras, a man of steel — stainless steel, that is. Recently transplanted from the suburbs of Chicago and Cincinnati and now living in Marshall County, he is a free-form sculptor who designs and builds large, three-dimensional, pieces of stainless steel furniture and sculpture for both indoor and outdoor use.

Toras welded his first stainless steel work of art in 1977 after experimenting with techniques and subjects. He chose this medium for its all-weather properties, ability to retain a high luster and versatility of texture, but primarily because of his past 25 years of experience as a certified pipe fitter and welder. He tries to incorporate light, sound, motion, and texture in all his creations and names each piece with an appropriate title describing its history such as “Life,” “Glimpse,” “Blown Away,” “Bubbles,” “Formations” and “Solutions,” to mention a few.

All his artistic efforts begin from scrap stainless steel he picks up from the various piles in the backyard of his workshop. After grabbing a piece of stainless, he grasps his most important tool — his air grinder — and goes to work. Some of his handiworks take months to create and may even take a forklift to move, while others are made in a day and are smaller than a breadbox.

Would you like to view some of his fascinating masterpieces? If you happen to be near Bebe’s Artisan on Second Street in Paducah, you will find standing on the curb an extremely tall sculpture. Many more are on display at Patti’s 1880s in Grand Rivers and Rare Earth in Murray, or may be found at Toras’ rural studio in Benton. Purchases may be made at any of those locations.

Long lasting and durable, stainless steel will not fade, disintegrate in rain or freeze in below-zero temperatures, yet it will blend with all other landscape elements. In a contemporary setting, Toras’ designs are a perfect accessory for uniting your house and garden.

Whether a sculpture is meant to be an eye-popping artful ornamentation or just plain whimsical is irrelevant. If it brings a smile with every viewing or provides a surprise to an unexpected visitor, then the placement of your garden sculpture can be counted as a success.

“The world is a big place,” Toras laughingly related. “It is filled with ideas waiting to be plucked. The universe is throwing ’em out there. You just gotta grab it. You have the power to create your own world if you want to.”

John Toras truly captures his philosophy of life in each piece of his sculptures, and the world is his inspiration and his canvas!