In this episode of the Dusty Jobs Podcast, we sit down with metal artist Jackson Williams at FABTECH 2025 in Chicago. Jackson is known for his large-scale metal sculptures of North America’s most iconic animals, including the impressive bear sculpture featured at our booth during the show. Jackson shares how he got started in metal art, the inspiration behind his work, and the creative process that goes into shaping raw metal into lifelike masterpieces. From learning the craft to building massive sculptures, his story is as unique as the art he creates.
Narrator: Welcome to the Dusty Jobs podcast from Imperial Systems. Industry knowledge to make your job easier and safer.
Donovan: Hello, welcome to another episode of the Dusty Jobs Podcast. We are back at FABTECH 2025 with Jackson Williams joining us here. How you doing?
Jackson: I’m doing great. How about you?
Donovan: Good. This is an exciting show for you, right?
Jackson: Very exciting. Yeah, I’m glad to be here.
Donovan: Now Jackson, tell us why you’re at our booth at FABTECH.
Jackson: Aaron from your marketing department actually reached out to me a while back on Instagram and said, “Hey, we’d love to shoot a video of you at your space and bring it to Chicago for this.”
Donovan: Now when you say “your space,” not everybody here might be familiar with you. You’re talking about your art studio, right?
Jackson: My art studio, yeah.
Donovan: Okay. So what do you do — are you a painter?
Jackson: I’m a metal artist.
Donovan: A metal artist. That makes a lot more sense why we’re here at FABTECH.
Jackson: Yes.
Donovan: So this year for FABTECH, you made something for our booth. What did you make?
Jackson: I made a grizzly bear sculpture — a life-size metal grizzly bear sculpture.
Donovan: When you say life-size, how big are we talking?
Jackson: About 8 feet tall.
Donovan: Wow. That’s definitely creeping into life-size range. I guess those grizzlies get around 8 to 10 feet.
Jackson: Yeah. I would not want to encounter that in the wild.
Donovan: No, definitely not. But you can come to our booth at FABTECH and experience a virtual one. So let’s talk about how you built this, because the process is really interesting. We’ll have to paint a picture for people who aren’t able to come see it.
Jackson: It all starts with finding pictures online. I look for front, side, and back views of the animal I want to create. Once I find good reference images, I print them out and draw a grid on top. Then I use that grid to enlarge the image onto the floor. From there, I build my wire framing using thinner material — I work in ½-inch steel rods. That’s my medium.
I use thinner rods on the inside for the frame, building it all on the ground following my drawing. Then I stand it up, and the rest is basically “skinning” it with ½-inch rods.
Donovan: Got it. So first, you make a model on the floor. Then you take thinner material for the framing and rough it out.
Jackson: Right. I follow the image I’ve created on the ground, replicate it in material, weld it all together as one piece, and then stand it up. Once the front profile and side profile are in place, I start filling in the rest.
Donovan: So you’re almost weaving it together, right? Because the metal you’re using isn’t straight lines — it’s got curves.
Jackson: I try to avoid straight lines. I aim for subtle, flowing curves that follow the muscle structures of the animal. In this case, with the grizzly, the rods are all over the place to make it look shaggy — like the real thing.
Donovan: Absolutely. I’d encourage everyone to go online and look at the finished sculpture. It turned out phenomenal. I don’t even know — how many pictures do you think people took with it today?
Jackson: Several. Too many to count.
Donovan: I think at least 100 people stopped by to get their picture taken with it. It’s incredible.
Jackson: Thank you.
Donovan: Now, you haven’t been working in this style very long, have you?
Jackson: No, I’ve only been working in this style for about a year. I’m new to it, but I’ve been welding since I was six.
Donovan: Since you were six? Not a lot of people hand a welder to a six-year-old. There’s got to be a story there.
Jackson: My father is actually a metal sculptor as well. He taught me everything I know and got me welding at a very young age. Having access to a creative space meant I could create whatever I wanted. It started with go-karts and dirt bikes, and as I got older, it transitioned into art. I worked for my dad for about four years, soaked it all in, and then decided to try my own thing — and here I am now.
Donovan: We were talking earlier — your dad got started with custom motorcycles, right?
Jackson: He did. He was dabbling in art but also loved vintage motorcycles, so he was always fixing and riding them. He grew up in a machine shop with my grandfather, where everything was about rules and measurements. He wanted to go more in the direction of art, where there was more freedom.
Donovan: So you’re actually a third-generation metal worker.
Jackson: Yeah — possibly fourth. I’m not entirely sure, but maybe fourth.
Donovan: That’s an awesome legacy to continue. Now, when we look at your style compared to your dad’s, are they similar or very different?
Jackson: We really don’t have similar styles. But one thing he did teach me was how to frame out sculptures accurately. His method of drawing them on the floor and using a grid to enlarge the image is what I still use today. It’s a great way to make sure the sculptures look just how they should. But he works with bronze and has a much more realistic approach to his artwork.
Donovan: Does your dad work specifically with wildlife too, or is that more your thing?
Jackson: For the most part, he’s done a lot of animals — primarily horses, other animals, lots of dragons. I fell in love with that too. Capturing motion in these animals is challenging, but it’s also really rewarding.
Donovan: So we’ve got the bear here, and I saw in one of your videos that you did something like a deer mount too. Is that right?
Jackson: Yeah.
Donovan: Do you have any other projects out there we should know about or anything coming up you’re excited about?
Jackson: I just finished a Texas Longhorn — a little bigger than the bear.
Donovan: Full size?
Jackson: Full size. About 6 feet at the shoulders. The head was turned to the side, and one horn went way out. From the back leg to the end of the horn, it was about 14 or 15 feet. Next, I have a project of a hand holding a globe, representing a company called Ancel — a big glove manufacturer. It’s going to be their glove saving the planet.
Donovan: Nice. So you do commission work too — if someone comes to you with an idea?
Jackson: Yes.
Donovan: Was the Longhorn a commission or something you wanted to do?
Jackson: That was a commission I got off TikTok.
Donovan: That’s great. And the bear?
Jackson: The bear was me brainstorming ideas for what we could pull off in the space I was given for this event. I thought a standing grizzly would be so cool.
Donovan: And it does look phenomenal. Now, your dad’s shop is in Massachusetts, right?
Jackson: Yes — Essex, Massachusetts.
Donovan: But you moved your shop recently, didn’t you?
Jackson: Yes. I just moved to Asheville, North Carolina. I’ve been setting up a studio there, and it’s finally done. I’m super excited to get started.
Donovan: So if people are in Asheville and want custom artwork done, they should look you up. Actually, people from anywhere can, right?
Jackson: Yeah. Thanks to TikTok, people are reaching out from everywhere. Especially in North Carolina — it’s a big art community down there, and that’s part of why I moved.
Donovan: Well, it’s exciting to see what you’ve done here and what you have coming up. If there’s a young person out there watching this — maybe they don’t have the same family legacy you do, but they’re inspired by what you’re doing — what advice would you give them?
Jackson: Just start. Just do it. Try to find your style. I was first commissioned by someone in Michigan for a sculpture made out of parallel rods. I tried to improve on that style by bending the rods and giving them motion — and I fell in love with it. I kept doing it over and over, getting better and better at the one thing I loved. So find your style, work hard at it, and it will come.
Donovan: So it doesn’t happen overnight — you’ve got to put in the time. How much time did you put into the grizzly?
Jackson: A lot. About 300 hours.
Donovan: 300 hours! Wow. Now, if anyone wants to see more of your work or follow what you’re doing, where’s the best place to go?
Jackson: I’m on TikTok and Instagram. My handle is Williams Sculpture on both.
Donovan: Perfect. We’ll make sure to link that. And we have a video featuring you on our website too — it turned out great. If you want to check that out, you can head over there.
I’m just excited you’re here. You did a great job, and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s next for you.
Jackson: Me too.
Donovan: Thanks for coming on.
Jackson: Of course. Thank you.
Donovan: For everyone out there, like and subscribe, follow us on Instagram, on Facebook, all of our social channels — and until next time, stay healthy and stay safe.
Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Dusty Jobs podcast. Breathe better. Work safer.
