Cooperative Living January/February 2022 - 14

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
WELDING STEEL
into Art
Recycling and reclaiming metal is 'Buck' Doughty's passion
S
ome students are lucky enough
to land in a class taught by a truly
inspiring teacher. That happened to
Albert " Buck " Doughty when he enrolled
at Eastern Shore Community College in
Melfa, Va., and signed up for a welding
class taught by Lewis Shields.
" He changed my life, " Doughty says
simply.
When they met, Shields had retired
from a long career working in the shipbuilding
yards of Newport News. There,
he had helped build the USS Enterprise
and several nuclear submarines. He was
teaching welding to pass on the exacting
skills he had developed over years.
Doughty had been doing finishing
work at Bayshore Concrete when he was
laid off. " I learned that I could go to the
community college and learn a trade that
would pay much better, " he explains.
He became one of the " Shields Boys " -
not just a young man with a skill, but one
who area employers knew had learned how
to weld to precise tolerances. He could be
trusted to produce smooth metal surfaces,
invisible seams and work that would last.
Working for various companies, Doughty
did welding on bridges and other major
12 ● Cooperative Living ●
January-February 2022
construction projects in the area.
Carving wooden bird decoys is an
Eastern Shore pastime. Wanting to be part
of the local tradition, Doughty tried his
hand at carving, but never felt his efforts
were good enough. Seeing backyard metal
abstract art with poor welding inspired
him to see what he could create with metal
and his excellent welding skills.
A member of A&N Electric
Cooperative, Doughty also has a second
mentor who changed his life. His cousin
Danny Doughty, a well-known folk
artist and art gallery owner in Onancock,
Va., guided him into a second career as
a sculptor.
" Danny wanted to do a show with
me. He said, 'Make as many pieces as
you can,' " Doughty explains.
When Danny Doughty saw his cousin's
sculptures, he was amazed. " These
are like nothing I've ever seen, so highly
detailed, " he expressed.
Encouraged by his cousin and people
who paid far more for his art than he
ever expected, Doughty entered his first
juried art show in 2007. His sculptures
sold well and he took home the Best in
Show award.
To create his steel sculptures, Doughty
uses the same tools he uses for welding
work: a torch and welder, grinder and
chisels. He does not do any casting. He
uses crystal-clear enamel to protect each
piece from rust.
Doughty's sculptures are enhanced
by colors, such as the lighter spots on a
butterfly's wings, created with a very small
tip on his welder's torch. " Steel is pure
and when I heat it very, very slowly and
evenly, that brings out purples and blues
and golds, " he explains.
These days, Doughty works full-time
for the University of Virginia's Coastal
Research Center in Cape Charles. He
maintains the center's vehicles and
equipment and takes researchers by boat
out to the uninhabited barrier islands.
But his weekend hours are reserved
for creating art.
" One thing driving me is that art is the
best way for me to be remembered, " says
Doughty. " My great, great grandfather
was Eli Doughty. He carved fine, wooden
duck decoys that President Grover
Cleveland liked. They went hunting
together. My metal sculpture is my way
of leaving my mark, like his decoys. " 
For more, check out facebook.com/
hogislandcreations.
co-opliving.com
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Cooperative Living January/February 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living January/February 2022
