Self-Taught Artist Rick “Gumby” Brummet Has
an Eye for Whimsy
If you’ve ever driven down Green Meadows Road in Columbia, chances are you’ve spotted one of the coolest yards ever. Who in the world lives here, you ask? Rick Brummet, better known to many around Columbia as “Gumby,” has one of those larger-than-life personalities that naturally spills over into everything around him.
“I’ve always enjoyed making things out of the norm, oversized, larger than life, bright colors — to make people open their eyes and appreciate things that are not normal, but more whimsical,” Rick says.
But he’s never called himself an artist.
“I have no training. I’m probably more of a builder,” he explains. Mainly self-taught, Rick credits much of that mindset to his father, whom he describes as extremely creative and capable of making anything with his hands. “I kind of feel like I am honoring him by carrying on all the skills I learned from him,” Rick adds.
He started out making sculptures from bowling balls because of their bright colors and easy availability. Over time, his yard evolved piece by piece around reclaimed objects and materials most people would have thrown away years ago. Everywhere you look, there’s another sculpture tucked into the landscape. Giant creations, reclaimed metal, bright colors, and strange objects repurposed into something playful or unexpected. Rick says he enjoys using materials others have disposed of — objects that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. Many of those materials, mainly metal objects, already have their own unique character and usefulness.
“It is extremely rewarding to take a pile of scrap material and create a piece of art that people stand back and slowly realize those are bicycle parts or bowling balls,” he says.
When you drive by or stop in at Rick’s place, it’s honestly a little overwhelming at first. The longer you look, the more details you notice. Some pieces are funny; some are strange. Some are mechanically impressive enough that you find yourself wondering how they were even built in the first place. You can instantly tell this is somebody whose creative mind never really shuts off. Building things for other people to enjoy clearly brings him joy.
One good example is the giant hippo sculpture sitting prominently in the yard. The massive concrete piece weighs somewhere around 8,000 pounds and required crane-like equipment and trailers just to move it into place before Rick painted and finished it. But after getting the big hippo set in place, Rick thought it looked lonely, so he found it some friends. Today, the hippo is probably one of the most photographed pieces on the property. Kids love it. Adults stop to take pictures beside it.
“Pure joy, fulfillment, and a sense of accomplishment” is how Rick describes completing an artwork. “Nothing better than finishing a piece, displaying it, and having it complimented by others,” he says.
Rick wasn’t even sure at first if the neighborhood would appreciate any of it. Fortunately for him, they embraced it. In fact, they were the ones who eventually coined the phrase “the house that makes people smile.”
Neighbors loved the art, Rick loved the art, and over time it only inspired him to keep creating more. Rick spent his career working as a materials inspector, a job built around structure and precision. That’s part of why he enjoys creating things outside the norm. Work required everything to fit exactly where it belonged. His artwork doesn’t.
Not that he doesn’t have to occasionally take location into account. Some pieces were built exactly where they still sit, because moving them later would have been nearly impossible. Rick described one bottle tree sculpture weighing nearly 6,000 pounds that had to be built in sections and assembled in place.
Although Rick may not build exactly like he once did, you’d never know it by driving past his place or looking at his to-do list. He still has plenty of projects and ideas ahead of him.
“I’m just being creative in other ways,” he says. Even now, creating still brings him joy, and he hopes to continue doing it as long as possible. Whether you know him as Rick or Gumby, Columbia is a little more interesting because he kept creating.
