Look no farther than Dominic Petrose.
Dominic and his wife, Larae, are the newest artist members of the Artisans of Mancos.
Dominic is the son of Mike and Vikki Petrose and grew up in Aztec, N.M., where his parents raised quarter horses after his father finished his term in the Air Force. Hanging around his father, the ranch and race cars, Dominic learned to weld and attended San Juan Basin Vo-tech after graduating high school and became a certified welder.
But it was the inspiration of his mother, Vikki, who was a pencil artist, that helped Dominic realize that he could utilize the welding torch as an art tool. Dominic is passing on the passion for the arts to his children, Viktoria, Anthonee, Lacee and Kagan, all of whom have spent time in the shop with their dad.
You can find Dominic in his shop, creating works of art when he's not in the shop at the Dolores school bus garage, where he works as a driver and mechanic.
Over the past two years, Dominic has worked at perfecting the art of knife making by utilizing recycled resources like lawn mower blades, circular saw blades and logging band saws. Dominic prefers these sources of blades because they come already preconditioned to handle the heat necessary during the blacksmith process. His knives have a variety of customized handles that add to the unique character of the piece.
Dominic's metal sculptures and knives are being showcased throughout February in the Spot Light on the Artist window at the Artisans of Mancos on Bauer Avenue. An artist reception is scheduled for Feb. 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Artisans.