Though artistic creation had been a part of Charlie Lucas’s life since childhood, it took a disabling accident in 1984 for him to look at it seriously, as his livelihood, and his means of expression.  His artistic skill is self-taught, yet his work is nationally and internationally acclaimed.  Lucas is an artist that is recognized as an innovator and a genius in the world of folk art, and was one of two artists from Alabama (Lucas and Lonnie B. Holley) recently chosen to represent the American Folk Art Museum at the famous Venice Biennale in Italy in June of this year.

At noon Wednesday  Lucas will speak at the Pell City Library.  He will share his story, which has recently been published by the University of Alabama Press in a work entitled, “Tin Man,” written by Lucas and Ben Windham, and illustrated by Chip Cooper.  He will also bring along some of his folk art — each work visionary and imbued with a story.

Known as “The Tin Man,” Lucas uses scrap materials, such old tin, bicycle wheels, gear, and other cast-offs from which to craft his masterpieces from his workshop in Pink Lily, Ala.  

“I can go out in the trash dumps and gather what man have throwed away and create something beautiful from it,” says Lucas. “I write another language with my art.”

How did this become his focus, his vision?

“I laid down,” Lucas confides, “I was real — let me see how can I say this — I wanted to talk to God, I wanted to talk to Him in a way that I had never talked to Him before. So I asked God to give me a talent and I promised Him that I would be honorable in this thing.  And I promised Him that I would go as far as this would take me through teaching and through the books and all of the fame of it.  And so I got up and told my family the whole story of it that I had seen all of this that night. And the next morning I had $10 in my pocket.  I had 12 ducks.  I had five dogs.  I had six or seven kids and a wife.  But I knowed there was something had changed in my life.  And now I got to follow this dream.”

This vision, and his sense of personal responsibility to stay focused and stay true to his calling, have not left him.  Each piece that he creates tells a story, of family, of race and heritage, of self-discovery.  

“Tin Man,” written by Charlie Lucas with the help of Ben Windham, and illustrated by Chip Cooper allows Lucas to tell his story in his own words and includes more than 200 color photographs of the artist at work, his environment and many of his masterpieces.  Through it we learn of Lucas’s impoverished childhood, his yearning for self-expression and understanding, his perseverance in hardship, his artistic vision, and ultimately, his salvation, through recognition and international acclaim.  

Copies of the book will be available during Wednesday’s event at the Pell City Library.

The program is part of the library’s ongoing adult summer reading series.  If you have not signed up to participate in the reading portion of this series, it is not too late. By reading the books you love, you will have the opportunity to win terrific prizes donated by local merchants, the library, and the library guild.  Be sure to contact the library for additional information.

 Wednesday’s event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served afterwards.  It is one that you will not want to miss.