The life of an artist and recycler.

by Mike Kravinsky

When Vollis Simpson retired, he promised himself not to sit around and watch TV. Now close to 90 years old, Simpson, a thin quiet man, has developed some of the most whimsical, large pieces of moving art from recycled sheet metal, road signs, headlights, even plane parts all powered by the wind. His windmills or "whirligigs" can be as high as 4 stories tall. Until his retirement in 1985, Vollis was an owner of a machine shop that he started in 1950 with a few friends. But when his partners decided to retire Vollis found himself with a large amount of machine parts and sheet metal on h

is property and lots of free time.

When he first started building his fantastic creations on the field in his front yard, people were a little skeptical. But over time he convinced the locals and his wife he wasn't crazy. As time went on his neighbors started to look forward to his next creation.

Simpsons  technical skill and artistry has been noticed outside of his Lucama North Carolina home. His creations are on display at The High Museum of Art in Atlanta , the entrance of the Waterfront Museum in Baltimore where a four story work lives, as well as The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Simpson gained serious recognition when he was asked to create his unique art for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he produced a man sawing, a man on a unicycle, a water pumper and a duck, all of which were placed throughout the city’s downtown.

Simpson continues to put time in his workshop adjacent to the Windmill Farm, which is filled with over 30 whirligigs of Simpson’s design and construction.

This is a video of my visit to see and interview Mr. Simpson about 3 years ago.

“If you don’t try something, you don’t learn anything.”
—Vollis Simpson