Shelly Durica-Laiche, owner of Indio Metal Arts is a metal artist that designs and builds decorative and functional steel objects. An Oregon native, Durica-Laiche attended Portland State University for Sculpture and Graphic Design. During her time in college, she took her first welding class and instantly fell in love with working with metal. Growing up, she was inspired by her aunt to become an artist.

Graphic design led me to sculpture, but never in the way I thought it would happen.

She was able to use her love of nature and fabrication learned at PSU to join the Oregon Zoo where she sculpted naturalistic elements and create animal habitats. Afterwards, she began working at Laika Studios building landscapes for the stop motion film ParaNorman. She notes that she was still working with natural subjects, but it was interesting to transition from large-scale objects, to working with toothpicks and hot glue guns.

After those experiences, she realized that it was time to create her own business.

“I’m not going to lay me off”

In 2012, she created Indio Metal Arts in Portland, Ore. where she builds a large variety of art. Majority of her art uses recycled materials from her colleagues and found in scrap yards. Durica-Laiche describes how, “Sometimes I know right away what I want to build while other times it takes years of contemplation. I’m driven by the design challenge of transforming these recognizable objects into an assemblage with a new voice.” These designs are sometimes functional – including trellises, furniture and gates, but are also decorative – including garden art and free standing sculptures. Unique in her field, she wants the viewer to be surprised to see these materials being used in a different way.

I really love using reclaimed materials because I know it was discarded. I’m going to find it and I’m going find beauty in it and transform it, give it a new life

For over a decade, she has worked full time in her studio, oftentimes preparing for collaborations, art festivals, gallery exhibitions and private commissions. It is clear that she is not done yet. Looking into the future, she hopes to work at a larger scale – working with other artists to make something big.