Robert Feuge plays with junk. When we visited him in his Fredericksburg, Texas, studio, he pulled out piece after piece of salvaged material, roadside kill (one of his artworks features dove’s wings), and plenty of wood, mostly wilted local oak.

“[With] virtually everything I look at,” Robert explained, “I ask the question: ‘What else can that thing be?’ ”

We reunited in the Box Canyon a few days later. Robert brought along junk store spoons he had purchased and hammered, along with some clay. He put on his beret and went to work. We spent the rest of the day watching a grown man play.