What do a man in a family-owned operation for 27 years and a man trying to start a business have in common? A hobby called metal art that is becoming a booming industry across the nation.

Driving through the flat range country of New Mexico you might run across a silhouette of a man on horseback roping calves or a sign advertising a ranch that you might not notice was there if you had not seen the sign.

Take a walk through a parade of homes show. You will most likely find a beautiful piece of furniture with intricate curves and bends that could have only been handcrafted. Every piece of furniture is unique because it cannot be mass-produced but made only by the talented hands of an artist.

We live in an industrial world and in our everyday life are surrounded by metal art, even if it is the smallest things such as jewelry or frames for eyeglasses. Years ago metal work was not seen as an art, but things have changed for the world of metal art.

For 18 years, "Tex" Welch, of Westcraft Metal Arts Inc., in Tatum, New Mexico, has earned a living producing metal art for customers all over the United States. The business started as a hobby for his father 27 years ago. Today the tradition continues with the business in its third generation.

"My dad started this as a hobby, and he couldn’t give the things he made away," Welch said. "Eventually, people saw the things he made and began calling him to make something for them."

Metal art has become so important over the years that even the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University has its own welding lab for students. South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, offers an associate’s degree in welding technology.

Welch still makes products the same way his father did 27 years ago. Although he does not use the latest technology in his business, he is still successful in what he does. Westcraft Metal Arts Inc., produces signed and numbered items for Warner Bros. Studio that are shipped out of Tatum, New Mexico, to stores all over the nation.

Monty Parkinson, of M&R Metal Works, has found his niche in the metal art industry by selling furniture to tourist shops in Fredricks-burg, Texas. He began building metal art pieces first as gifts for family members and then as an extra source of income. Soon he began to fall behind on his orders and decided to make it his own business.

Unlike Welch, Parkinson has been in business for less than a year. Yet, he is seldom without something on which to work. Parkinson rarely produces the same product twice; instead, he is faced with the strategic challenge of designing new pieces for potential customers.

While in college he learned how to use his metal working skills for artistic purposes. While working for a welding company he saw a co-worker building metal art and decided to try it.

"I enjoyed piddling with building tables, and people liked what I was making," Parkinson said. "Then, I didn’t realize that this would put me into business for myself."

Although many people may know how to weld, it takes an artist to be creative enough to produce various types of metal art. Metal art is a growing industry, and as much as we use metal art in our everyday lives, it will no doubt continue to fulfill dreams for metalwork hobbyists everywhere.