Today we’d like to introduce you to Mason Barnett.
Hi Mason, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started this journey in high school when I realized I didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day—I wanted to learn a trade. Welding sounded cool, so I enrolled in vocational classes. After grasping the basics, it was time to work on our own projects. Everyone else chose to build trailers, duck blinds, and other impressive things. But me? I’m cheap. I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on steel, so I started rummaging through the scrap bin instead.
For my project, I made a scorpion out of nothing but discarded metal. It was the first time in school that I truly felt proud of something I had created. It impressed my teacher enough that he let me build another sculpture—this time, a dragon. That piece not only caught attention, it lit a fire in me that’s still burning today.
I went on to college and earned an associate degree in manufacturing technology with an emphasis in welding. While I was there, I won my state’s SkillsUSA competition for welding sculpture. I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to compete at Nationals, where I placed 10th in the country.
At the same time, I was creating custom sculptures for individuals and businesses, and selling others on Etsy. I posted everything I made on Instagram and Facebook, and that was enough to keep me busy.
Then one of the most coincidental things that has ever happened to me took place.
I sent an email to Molzer Development, a group of talented young professionals redeveloping the Aladdin Hotel in downtown Kansas City and the Holtman Building in the Crossroads. I saw what they were doing and figured they could probably use some art for their lobbies and spaces.
But little did I know—they had a different idea.
When I sent that email, they had just walked out of a meeting with the city to discuss a bus stop that would sit outside the Holtman Building. They wanted something unique… like a bus stop made from a bus.
We got on a phone call almost immediately and started designing it. I had taken on a project that I had zero experience doing—and honestly, nobody else did either. I was just learning as I went. I was 21 years old and didn’t even have a shop to build something like that.
Luckily, my dad let me use his barn, and I had just enough tools to make it happen. So when that city bus rolled up on a wrecker, I started figuring it out piece by piece.
Along the way, we documented everything and posted it on Instagram and Facebook @mammoth_metals.
Today, the Bus Bus Stop is installed at 18th and Holmes and is used every single day as a functioning bus stop. It was an insane project—one that launched my career and my social media platforms. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity the team at Molzer Development gave me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly, I feel like I’m just now getting onto the on-ramp. I just turned 22, and I have a studio currently under construction. Up to this point, everything I’ve done has been out of my dad’s barn.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced has been the cost of materials and consumables. Welding and fabrication is definitely an expensive niche. For the first year or so, the goal was simply to break even. Now I’m starting to get over that hump of investing in new tools, and it’s more about keeping up with consumables.
I definitely haven’t had it hard. I’ve been blessed by so many people—teachers, members of the community, and especially my parents. People have donated scrap metal, old tools, and anything else they could to help keep me going. I am forever grateful.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create sculptures out of recycled metal. I love finding unique pieces that people have thrown away or were sending to the scrapyard and transforming them into something alive and elegant. I mainly create animals. There’s something powerful about taking a familiar creature and recreating it with a material that’s known for being strong and stationary.
I love positioning them as if they’re frozen mid-step or mid-flight. When you look at them, it almost feels like they could move at any moment.
Lately, I’ve been getting more into using brass—mostly from old drum set cymbals—to introduce another color into the palette. I would say color is one of the biggest challenges. Steel typically falls into two main categories: the red and brown tones of rust, and the gray and silver of mill scale.
How do you think about luck?
I could almost call my whole career luck. When I look back at everything—from starting an “actual” project in high school, to deciding at the last minute to go to college, to sending that email on a random Sunday to a developer who probably wasn’t going to respond—I realize that if any one of those moments had gone slightly differently, my life could have been completely altered. It almost gives me an eerie feeling.
At the same time, it makes me believe this is meant to be—that God has placed me in these positions for a reason. I just have to be willing to accept the opportunities in front of me and run with them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mammothmetalsart.etsy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mammoth_metals?igsh=MW81OHNyajM3N3A2MQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Gyh8NMVEr/?mibextid=wwXIfr
