With the right mix of talent and patient skill, even broken and discarded items become beautiful ornaments and jewelry. For five years, David Campbell, a man from Capitan, has been taking broken butter knives, dulled saw blades and chunks of melted wax and turning them into wall décor, necklaces and new candles. His pieces decorate walls in thrift stores from Ruidoso and Capitan all the way to Alamogordo and Las Cruces. His candles light the rooms of the Humane Society of Lincoln County and the Lincoln County Food Bank. Recently, he stopped by The Nest and donated a cross, made of knives and glass beads from a fish tank.
“I just started running out of wall space at home, so I started taking it to charities,” Campbell said.
His donation at The Nest was prompted when he stopped by Sweet Charity with a jewelry donation. After talking with Dora, a shopkeeper at the resale boutique, he decided to donate a separate art piece for the women at the shelter. Like all of HEAL’s donors, Campbell received a hand written thank you note in the mail soon after. Uniquely, he sent a thank you note back, along with a few feathers he had found. “I was so happy that they wanted to include me,” Campbell said.
When he returned to The Nest to speak with staff about his work and take pictures for an article, he did not come empty handed. He brought three more crosses, each uniquely decorated with beads and stones, as well as three candles he had made.
Campbell is an entirely self-taught craftsman. Of his inspiration and motivation, he said, “I just sit down and make it. I love God and thank Him for my life. I do a lot of hard work, like log splitting, because it’s good exercise and good therapy for me. I try to work every single day. I turned 67 last month and nobody believes me, that I could be this old. This was just something my sister had said everyone would love.”
The organizations he works with are so thankful for his work that they have begun to donate materials for his use. Thrift stores save items for him, from broken, sterling silver butter knives from the 1940s to chunks of candle wax. His work is also featured in the Four Seasons Mall at the bead store.
“There are so many ways people come forward to help the residents at the Nest. It is really remarkable. We are grateful for David and his donations to the women at our shelter,” said Coleen Widell, HEAL Executive Director.
Pictured is David Campbell holding a cross he created and donated to the Nest.
