WYNOLA’S IRON MAN Renowned Artist Works in Anonymity

Dexter Mugford working on a new “Art-of-Iron” creation. Photos by Jim Evans

By Jim Evans

His medium is metal, and his “Art-of-Iron” is a testiment to his artistic talent. His metal sculptures and other metal creations are recognized throughout the world, yet he works in relative anonymity from his modest home in Wynola.

From the time he was 5 living in Boston and heating a metal rod in the family barbecue grill, Dexter Mugford knew that he liked working with metals, and for the past 39 years he has followed his dream of creating art out of metal. He excelled in art and math — two seemingly incongruous subjects — while in grade school and junior high and attended a — vocational high school for four years with an emphasis on metal fabrication. Following high school, he graduated with every obtainable certification from the Hobart School of Welding in Troy, Ohio.

For 26 years — the last 15 in Wynola — Mugford has worked as a commercial artist commissioning an impressive legacy of metal creations worldwide. He and his wife, Sheryle, a fourth-generation Julian, live quietly on the outskirts of Wynola. Their modest home is tastefully decorated with some of Mugford’s interior iron accessories such as wall art, tabletop sculptures, fireplace utinsels and a magnificent dining room set, an example of Mugford’s “functional art.”

Dexter and wife, Sheryle Mugford.

Adjacent to their home is a large green metal building — the “green barn,” as he calls it — which serves as Mugford’s workshop. It is neat and well-organized and filled with the tools of his trade saved from the time he was a youngster. Mugford enjoys working with every kind of metal, “but,” he says, “I particularly enjoy working with alloys — especially iron, bronze, and stainless. Iron is the most ‘forgiving’ metal, but the alloys allow more color and creativity.”

All of Mugford’s works are original works of art, so no two pieces are the same.

“I have no desire to mass-produce a particular design or creation,” he says. “Everything I do is unique and one-of-a-kind.”

His “art-of-iron” creations, however, do fall into certain categories:

• Functional art — tables, chairs, lamps and other “furniture” that has functional everyday use.

• Entryways and railings — decorative gates, fences, rails and window coverings.

• Interior accessories — candelabras, chandeliers, fireplace screens and fire utinsels.

• Sculptures — small interior pieces for tabletops and mantels, wall decorations and frames (for mirrors, pictures).

• Outdoor sculptures — generally larger, more rugged pieces for outside décor.

Much of Mugford’s work reflects his love of Native American culture, but his artistry is not limited to any particular subject matter. Only time is an occasional nemisis.

“Sometimes customers want something right away, and it might take several weeks to create what they want — and do it right,” says Mugford.

In other words, true art doesn’t come off an assembly line.

For more examples of Mugford’s work, refer to www.art-of-iron.com or call Dexter Mugford Designs at 1-800-278-6347 for custom projects.