By Alabama NewsCenter Staff
Charlie Lucas, who has become known as “Tin Man,” first experimented with scraps of iron and steel, creating meaning from piles of junk and cast-off raw materials. He welds, twists and bolts the pieces together to create art that tells a story. Lucas is often named among the group of self-taught artists who create “outsider art.” These artists share a lack of formal training and a focus on their immediate surroundings, experiences and inner visions. Lucas was born in Birmingham on Oct. 12, 1951, and raised in rural Elmore County north of Montgomery. Lucas’ great-grandfather Cain Jackson introduced him to metalworking as a youngster, allowing him to use Jackson’s tools and materials to make small pieces. But it was not until Lucas suffered a severe back injury in 1984 that he turned to art full time. Following surgery, he was unable to work and asked God to give him a skill that no one else had. That led him to return to the metalworking he learned in his great-grandfather’s blacksmith shop.
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