I recently posted about attending a super cool art show in a refurbished, slightly fancified barn. The work of one of the artists really resonated. When asking him about how he makes his sculptures, which is pretty fascinating, I realized many of the How-to Stuff readers would be interested in hearing this artist’s story, too. Lucky for us, Chris Beck is a very gracious person. So here’s a little about him and how he’s managed to turn his avocation into his vocation — making a living doing something he clearly loves (and something he’s very clearly good at).

Chris typically invests around 30 hours (sometimes more, sometimes less) in each sculpture, which is made from old roofing tin. On the first day, it takes at least 10 hours to get the metal “crunched and wrinkled and beat up.” On the second day, Chris spends his time … more after the jump.