John Lopez is an artist from South Dakota who is creating one of a kind sculptures that have to be seen to be believed.

Lopez is using old farm equipment to create sculptures of mainstays of the old American west, like a bison, a horse with a plow and a Texas Longhorn. Since Lopez uses only recycled materials to make his sculptures, they are completely eco-friendly.

Lopez got his start as a bronze sculptor, but it was only when he forged a gravestone for a deceased aunt that he found how versatile scrap metal is. He loved the aesthetic scrap metal created, so he decided to use it to make all of his art going forward.

Lopez’s art pays respect to the past while also putting a futuristic spin on it. I’ve never seen anything quite like the sculptures that he has created.

“My favorite part about these pieces is the texture,” Lopez said. “I just start grabbin’ stuff from the pile and welding it in, and if you weld enough of the same thing on over and over it creates this really cool texture that I’ve never seen in these kinds of pieces before. And I think that’s what draws people in.”