Recycleart Sculpture Garden is located in Waldoboro, Maine. It was created by the late self-taught artist and welder, Nathan Nicholls. Through his art, Nathan encouraged others to think twice before throwing an object away. There is not an object out there that Nathan could not recycle into a beautiful artwork. He welded nails, tires, bike parts, and broken farm equipment into sculptures of owls, flowers, frogs, and cats. Even the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland makes an appearance in his garden.
Nathan was originally from Massachusetts. He moved to Maine after his teenage years. He took on odd jobs, from harvesting blueberries to repairing lawn mowers and motorcycles. The latter job introduced him to the beauty of scraps and discarded objects. Inspired by these objects, Nathan started making sculptures in the 1990s. In 2003, after his mother passed away, he began devoting even more time to his art in order to comfort himself. After many years of creating art, his 5 acres of land is now covered with sculptures.
Nathan passed away in 2014, at the age of 52. His family is working to preserve his artistic legacy. They are in the process of figuring out how to ensure the safety and longevity of his art, especially during the Maine winters. Ideally, it is best to keep an art environment as the artist left it but this leaves the risk of the artwork being destroyed. We hope they come up with a solution that works for them because his sculptures are truly unique and inspiring.
For more information, please visit the Facebook page for the site.
I love this place!
Hi! Thanks, Japhy.
This is a great write up about my Dad. Thank you. <3 We are still working towards agreeing on which sculptures will be sold, and which kept. As I'm sure one can imagine it is difficult to decide which sculptures to part with. Especially as there are grandkids who may someday have different tastes than their parents…
Hi Alissa! You are welcome. I am happy to share his amazing work. We have a camp nearby and drive by the sculptures often. My kids love it there! I can imagine how hard it must be to figure out which ones to keep. My uncle was a prolific artist/inventor. He would have loved your Dad’s work. He had less artwork than your Dad, but it was still quite hard to know what to do. Best of luck to you all! Please let me know if you ever need any help. I worked in the arts for a while. Take care!