Nature & Trash: Clifton Craftsman Makes Art For All From What He Finds Around Him

It all started with a pipe. 

Several years ago, I had the furnace in my house replaced. When the project was completed, I notices a large section of copper pipe had been left behind. It was kind of stuck up, underneath another PVC pipe, just hanging there. I let it sit there for a while until I realized it was pulling on some of the other pipes in the area.

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At that point, I knew the pipe needed to go. But I didn't have the tools to take it down myself, nor did I think a big section of pipe like that should just be tossed aside. I figured someone had to be able to use it for something.

Within a week, I came across the profile of a local artist on social media. He worked with copper.

His name is Mike Billings, and he operates Twisted Fate Forge out of his home in Clifton.

Billings takes material like old copper pipes...

old scrap metal...

natural stones...

wood that he finds out and about as he's exploring...

and other items that most people, like myself, just junk or throw away...

and he turns it into beautiful jewelry...

and unique pieces of art.

As I looked through all the amazing pictures on his website, TwistedFateForge.com, I thought it would be cool to see what he could do with my old piece of pipe.

So I reached out to see if he might want to come and get it.

He did me one better and invited me out to his workshop in Clifton to take a peek at how he works and what he does with all that stuff.

Despite it being the hottest day of the year so far, the small workshop sits right on the edge of the water, providing the perfect backdrop and inspiration for Billings to craft his creations. (Anyone who follows Billings on his social media knows he is not a fan of wearing shirts, especially on hot days, so it quickly came off when he got to work.)

Moving in and out, making use of the space, but also tapping into the energy of his surroundings, Billings worked on a number of different pieces while I was visiting.

There was a walking stick, made from wood chewed down by a beaver in a nearby spot he likes to walk, with his dog, Oslo. (Oslo is never far from Billings, and oversees his work, like a shop foreman who will work for belly rubs.)

Billings then took parts of the pipe I had given him, and made a beautiful and melodic wind chime from it.

He went seamlessly from flame-painting pipes on the chime and flaming the wooden noisemaker he carved with a chainsaw...

to scrolling each copper coil that held the thing together, you can tell Billings works with a vision, determination, and eye for making things that are well-put together, quality pieces, put together with care.

In his workshop, you can see evidence of all sorts of interesting raw materials...

from copper coils he's fashioned into bangle bracelets...

to smaller pieces of wire and pipe...

that he's made into wearable rings...

He's got all sorts of tools at his disposal...

...tools to bend and shape metal...

into bracelets and earrings...

to tools meant for banging and shaping other creations, like his chimes.

With an eye for seeing the beauty and potential in things that have been discarded, Billings makes sure very little goes to waste.

In fact, that's a theme that runs through all of his work; upcycling: reusing and repurposing scraps and old materials and giving them new life.

He makes everything himself...even his business cards.

The stands and racks on which he displays his wares, he made those, too.

Billings, who studied Engineering at Maine Maritime Academy, is a self-taught, almost reluctant artist. He'll tell you he grew up tearing things apart and putting things back together.

He spent years working traditional jobs, and then quite a bit of time as a stay-at-home dad.

After going through some major life changes, Billings started tinkering around with metal, and inspired by his daughters and a fellow artist, he tried his hand at making jewelry.

Discovering he had a talent for it, he started creating more and more and then branched out to other pieces and other mediums.

Most recently, he got a laser engraver and started producing key chains made of wood.

Along with a sense of pride and craftsmanship, most of Billings' work also has a very distinct signature to it; his twisted sense of humor.

Hence the "Twisted", in Twisted Fate Forge.

The thousands of followers he has on social media have come to know him for it. One part tongue-in-cheek, one part outrageous and often edgy, a Billings piece is not only beautiful but has personality.

You can check his work out for yourself on his Facebook Page, his Instagram, his website, or in person. He'll be set up at this weekend's Brewer Riverwalk Festival.

And if you have materials kicking around your house, that you're considering just tossing out, you may want to consider looking around for someone with vision, like Billings, who's got the talent to give those materials a second chance at life.