McMullen’s junk art approach wins Merit Award

BATAVIA – Keegan McMullen, age 10, Batavia, has been a member of the Scott Pioneers 4-H Club for the past five years. He is the son of Mark and Sarah McMullen and “very excited” about winning his very first Merit Award.

The category is arts and crafts. The project is a junk art sugar glider.

“The sugar glider is a cousin of the squirrel and eats fruits and lives in Northern Africa,” McMullen said. “I learned this in a book report in school.

“We had to make a sugar glider for school, and all the other kids used pipe cleaners or other things; and I used a chain, spring and all sorts of different metals. I used metals because my dad does junk art and he has the pieces and the tools. He has all sorts of stuff.

“I picked out a bunch of stuff,” McMullen continued, “and I looked at a picture and then looked to see where and how the pieces would fit and welded them together.

My dad did the welding because I’m a little too young,” McMullen added.

“Everything is natural right down to the green eyes,” McMullen said.

The pieces that McMullen used are a combine chain, a spring that came from a John Deere corn planter, the head is from a disk, and the wings came from a 55-gallon drum.

“I have been putting it on our well for now,” McMullen said. “We get some questions about it when people stop to visit.

“The judge said it had a great shape and loved how the pieces were bended and natural,” McMullen stated.

“I used hammer to bend the chain and the legs,” McMullen added. “It was a fun project to build,” McMullen said. “I help my dad a lot with these projects and will continue doing this.”