For 15 years, Colorado artist Robert Bellows has helped veterans find peace at his shop
Deep in Longmont, tucked between bike paths and wide open land, the clang of metal on metal echoes at almost any hour. The shop belonging to Colorado artist Robert Bellows can get loud seven days a week, but for many veterans, that noise has become something else entirely. It has become a path to peace.
"I have 27 steps from my home to my shop and in those 27 steps, I have to have an idea of what we are doing today," said Bellows.
Almost every day, veterans and civilians gather in the shop to work side by side, shaping steel into enormous sculptures. Bellows said the work can be about "absolutely beautiful" and "chaotic." But for everyone who visits, the art and conversations they have are part of the process of healing.
The project began when Bellows, a sculptor, noticed his friend Brad Gallop struggling after his time in the Air Force. He asked Gallop to show him with his body what he wanted to say to the world. Gallop stepped into a stance, part fighting pose, part embrace, and that moment sparked their idea. Together, they transformed that feeling into two towering sculptures. A fifteen-foot dragon representing life at war and a phoenix symbolizing the return home.
The literal space between those two creatures is called the "A Warrior Storyfield" -- a sacred place for people to gather to share stories of trauma and triumph.
"I tried three times to take my life. I did not know what to do with this pain. I had to own it and be witnessed in my trauma in a sacred space. I had to be able to tell my story of my trauma and not be shamed and not be judged," said Gallop.
Over time, the project has grown, both the sculptures themselves and the community around them. Veterans say they see themselves reflected in the steel and that the work gives them connection and purpose. Visitors are welcomed into the experience, too. CBS Colorado reporter Sarah Horbacewicz was handed a welding jacket, helmet and encouraged to take her turn at pounding steel.
Nothing at the Warrior Storyfield has to be perfect. Plans change every day. Some days the work flows and some days it stops.
"We are not trying to heal, fix, or change anybody," said Bellows. "We do not have a theory about how you should better yourself."
What they have built instead is a place of connection, proof that people are more alike than different.
A documentary about the Warrior StoryField is currently in development by Purple Mountain Productions. When the sculptures are complete, the goal is to place them in a public space where the conversations and the healing can continue. To support the project, visit WarriorStoryField.Org.
