Blaine Niehus is one of two artists selected for the 2025 Recology+AAYC AIR, a collaboration between Recology Western Oregon and the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County. This unique residency provides local artists with 

access to discarded materials from the McMinnville Recycling Center, challenging them to create original artwork that highlights reuse, resourcefulness, and imagination. Blaine’s work reflects his instinctive approach to transforming scrap into expressive, functional pieces—bridging his background in welding with a raw, evolving artistic voice.  I had a chance to catch up with Blaine and explore how a welder with a love for salvaged materials is forging a path as an emerging artist.

Sparking Creativity with Scrap Metal

Blaine Niehus doesn’t consider himself a traditional artist. A full-time welder by trade, he began to recognize his creative instincts through the act of building—both at work and in his garage, where the lines between fabrication and artistry start to blur. Whether it’s repurposing old grinders into lamps or shaping salvaged hardwood into wall-mounted key holders, Blaine finds inspiration in the discarded and unexpected.

“I guess I’m just artsy in a lot of ways,” he says. “I’ve always liked creating things—even back in high school when I painted longboards or messed around with ceramics.”

What draws Blaine in most isn’t perfection or polish, but potential. “You never know what you're going to do until you see it,” he says. “Things are changing and you're like, oh, well maybe this would go better with that.”

The Garage as a Studio

Blaine’s creative space is his garage—a place filled with salvaged tools, forgotten furniture, armor scraps, and future ideas waiting to emerge. He starts most studio days with coffee and silence, standing amid the clutter until something clicks.

“I’ll go in there and just kind of look at things,” he says. “Once I start, it’s hard to stop. You get in the moment, and the hours just go.”

While his process is often spontaneous, Blaine also uses digital tools like Procreate to sketch out ideas. “I’ll draw it and layer it—like this big bent cable I want to use for a lamp. Sometimes I add stuff to the drawing and see how it works. Other times, I just go for it.”

Industrial Influence and a Soft Touch

Blaine’s work leans toward an industrial style, but that’s just the beginning. “I kind 

of like the industrial style,” he says. “I like old things. Cool things. Things with character.”

He’s drawn to oversized, off-scale, cartoon-inspired visuals: “Like Rat Fink kind of stuff—muscle car art. Not to scale. Just super cartoony and exaggerated.”

Still, there’s a softer energy at play. One of his pieces—a barbed wire hat—was wrapped with a delicate bandana. “I might look like a hard-ass,” he laughs, “but I’m kind of a big softie.” That contrast often shows up in his work: tough materials paired with warmth and emotion.

Letting the Materials Lead

One of the most striking discoveries during Blaine’s residency with Recology + AAYC has been an old helmet filled with mismatched armor pieces—knee covers, wrist cuffs, shoulder joints.

“It was too cool to leave behind,” he says. “I was thinking maybe a hanging light or a sculpture. I found it at the bottom of a trash bin. No one else had seen it.”

That sense of excitement drives much of his creative process. “You see something and think, I could do something with that—and then I run with it. I’ve got a garage full of projects that started that way.”

He’s constantly trying new things: mirror etching with diamond bits, epoxy resin furniture, sculptural lamps, and mixed media shadow boxes. “I don’t want to just stick to one thing. I want to try stuff I haven’t done before.”

Finding Pride in the Process

Like many artists, Blaine has wrestled with self-doubt. “I never wanted to give someone a bad tattoo, so I never tried,” he says. “Then one day, I bought a tattoo machine and started on my own legs. And it was like—wow, not bad. I wish I would’ve done it years ago.”

That courage carries into his art, like his first epoxy resin table. “I didn’t know how fast it sets. I had to sand it a bunch of times. But I’m really proud of it—not because it was perfect, but because I didn’t quit. I just kept going.”

YouTube University and Real-Life Mentors

Although Blaine took art classes in high school, most of his creative education has come from hands-on learning and online tutorials. “There’s a video for everything,” he says. “You think you can’t do something, and then you see someone break it down, and it clicks.”

While new to AAYC, he views the local art community as a valuable extension of that learning. “It’d be like a YouTube video, but in person—with feedback and collaboration,” he says. “I’d love to work on a piece with Jessica. We come from different angles, but that’s what makes it interesting.”

A Creative Rhythm

Blaine doesn’t follow rigid plans, but he keeps moving. “If I get stuck, I just start working on something else. I have like the ADHD where I’m kind of doing multiple things at once—like, I’d be like ‘Hey, I’m doing yard work today,’ and next thing you know I’m cleaning the garage and working on projects.”

He often has multiple pieces going at once, many “97 percent done.” Setting deadlines helps keep momentum.

Music plays a key role in his studio sessions. “If I’m really trying to get going, I’ll put on something funky—disco, dance music. But I also listen to rap, country, Sinatra. Depends on the mood.”

Looking Ahead

Blaine isn’t trying to predict the future—but he’s open to it. “I don’t know where I’m going,” he says, “but I know it’s somewhere cool.”

He’s currently fixated on mirrors and etched glass, and dreams of tackling a large-scale river epoxy table someday. “And honestly—I’ve always dreamed of building a house. Maybe with hidden rooms and tunnels,” he adds with a grin. “I don’t know why. Just something I’ve always wanted.”

Words of Advice

Asked what advice he’d give to other emerging artists, Blaine speaks plainly: “Don’t doubt yourself before you even try. That was my biggest hurdle. I was my own worst critic.”

“Even if you mess it up, just do it. You’ll figure it out.”

A Final Note

Whether he’s welding at work, crafting in the garage, or sketching out his next idea, Blaine brings heart and determination to everything he makes.

“I like to put my all into everything,” he says. “Even if it might not show—my heart is in the art.”