Maybe you’ve seen them: the slightly scary-looking creatures riding bikes around Oquirrh Lake. When you look a little closer, you might notice they’re made up of recycled parts of bikes and other metal pieces. Or maybe you’ve seen smaller versions of these goblin-like creatures in a boutique shop in Park City. But where did these mysterious creatures come from?
Well, that story begins with Fred Conlon. Fred has been a full-time artist for the last 30 years. He’s created some of Utah’s most iconic sculptures, from gnomes on ski hills in Park City to public art at Bear Lake, and yes, some right in our backyard—the large bicycle-themed sculptures along Oquirrh Lake and in Founders Park.
Interestingly, Fred’s journey to metalwork actually begins with pottery.
“My parents told me to go to college and get a degree, but in the process, take a class that you’re interested in,” Fred recalls. He decided to take one about jewelry making, bookbinding, and pottery. “I kind of fell in love with pottery,” he says. He ended up taking a pottery class every semester and becoming a studio assistant.
But after being at school for five years, he realized he just needed to get a degree and get out. When he met with a guidance counselor in the communications department, they asked him to write a paper to convince them why they should accept his classes towards a major.
Fred wrote about how non-verbal communication, including art, has the ability to communicate without saying any words. “Art helps us convey emotions,” Fred says. “It can make us happy, make us sad, inspire us.” Soon after, he graduated with a degree in public communication.
After graduation, Fred opened a pottery shop, called Sugarpost Pottery, named for the neighborhood it was located in (Sugar House) and the post office across the street from it. Although the shop was successful, money was tight as he and his wife lived off what they sold there.
Fred’s introduction to metalwork came when he needed shelves to display his pottery. He taught himself to weld and made some metal racks for the studio. The pivotal moment came when he was at an Army-Navy surplus store and came across a giant pile of army helmets.
Fred says they reminded him of his grandfather, who was at Pearl Harbor during World War II. “He always told me that war happens quickly,” Fred says. “And looking at all these army helmets, I thought, war does happen quickly, but peace, on the other hand, moves slowly. And turtles move slowly. And all these army helmets kind of look like turtle shells to me. So why not make a turtle out of an old army helmet to kind of bring things full circle?”
So, he made an army helmet turtle, utilizing his newfound metalworking skill. It became a sort of mascot for the pottery shop, hanging out on the front porch. One day, a customer asked how much it cost. Fred was hesitant to sell it at first, but gave in when he realized there was some value in the metal turtle he had made.
It only took half an hour to make, as opposed to the three-week process of making a $15 pottery mug. He went back for more army helmets, made more turtles, and they sold.
From there, he started making other things, like ladybugs, army ants, and spiders. Eventually, he started making his famous Gnome-Be-Gones. “People put stupid things in their yard for yard art like gnomes and flamingos,” Fred says, “but I wanted them to put cool things in their yard… so I came up with this piece called the Gnome-Be-Gone, which are these little monsters that carry a gnome out of your yard. They help control the gnome population.”
Early in his metalwork career, while at an art show at the Utah Arts Festival, a contractor came up to Fred and asked, “Do you do any real welding?”, wondering if he’d be interested in helping with the Alpine Coaster construction in Park City. He ended up with the gig, and at the end of the project, he added a little skier and a little snowboarding Gnome-Be-Gone right under a chairlift on the coaster.
Fred remembers getting a call a few weeks later from the President of Park City Corporation, Peter Curtis. “Fred, it seems like you’ve forgotten something up here,” Peter said. Fred panicked for a second before learning Peter was referring to his sculptures. Peter said everyone loved it and that they wanted to make it the mascot of the kids’ ski school program.
Whatever Fred is making, he tries to recycle as much metal as he can, finding elements of his pieces in Army-Navy surplus stores, junkyards, metal recyclers, and donations. “I like the idea of making something out of nothing,” Fred says. “It’s neat to see things have a new life, to be revitalized…taking something that was once considered trash or garbage and putting some effort and creativity into it, it becomes something of value.”
The large Gnome-Be-Gones he created in Daybreak are no different. The elements of the bike sculptures along Oquirrh Lake and in Founders Park actually came from the Daybreak community, made of donated bike frames, wheels, tires, and pedals. Fred says he wanted to create “public art that would incorporate the idea that Daybreak has of being a walkable, bikeable, fitness-based community.”
Fred’s audience has continued to grow, so much so that he now has three full-time employees working for him. No matter how much success he has, Fred says he wants to help people know that art is something anyone can (and should) do, and that great art isn’t always what you’d expect.
His former business partner, friend, and mentor always used to say that, “Good art won’t match your sofa,” Fred adds: “If the art makes you smile, laugh, or feel good, then that's probably something that you should have in your life.”
You can find Fred Conlon’s work online at Sugarpost.com or on Instagram @sugarpost_metal, and in person at 80 W Truman Ave, Salt Lake City. To learn more about having custom work done, please call (801) 832-9235.