Meet the mad scientist building robots from forgotten things
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Jun 19, 2026
If you walk into Josh Waddell's studio, 3 Bulls Upcycling, you will walk into an ever-changing mountain of pure chaos and joy.
Tom Waits, R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys pump through the room. The floor is littered with, for lack of a better word, junk. But in the middle of the discarded tech and long-abandoned trinkets is Waddell, smiling as he moves through his studio like a proud father introducing his children.
Josh Waddell stands inside his 3 Bulls Upcycling workshop while holding a vintage camera flash handle, the same kind of object famously repurposed as a lightsaber prop in the original "Star Wars" films.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
He picks up strange, forgotten relics and explains what they used to be and what they could become.
A pool filter. A chromed-out vacuum cleaner. A broken oscilloscope. Funnels. Nozzles. Springs. Worn bits of old technology most people would have tossed into a bin without a second thought.
Waddell sees them differently. He sees parts of a friendly robot ready for a new life.
"It's alive"
Waddell, an assemblage artist, builds robots and various sculptures from the things society leaves behind.
His upcoming solo exhibition, "Rise of the Robots," opens in July at the Center's Lyon Gallery and will feature more than 20 robotic sculptures, many of which are new and previously unseen.
The opening reception is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. July 1, with catering by The Eatery, a cash bar and possibly a DJ.
For Waddell, the show is a major milestone. He has shown work in group exhibitions and has pieces regularly for sale at two Tulsa galleries, but "Rise of the Robots" will be his first solo exhibition.
The work itself is difficult to categorize neatly, which is part of the fun.
Some pieces are wall-mounted. Others stand on their own. Some are only a few inches tall. Others stretch close to 6 feet. One robot holds a book made from floppy disks, with a Van Gogh image tucked inside. Another combines an over 100-year-old wooden bench vise with parts from a 1940s television.
A close-up look at one of Josh Waddell’s robot sculptures shows the worn metal, scratches and rescued parts that give each piece its own history and personality.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Each one is built from found, rescued or donated objects. Each one is impossible to duplicate or recreate.
"The parts are worn and unique," Waddell said, "I couldn't build a second one even if I wanted to."
That is where the personality comes in. A curve of plastic becomes a shoulder. A spring becomes a leg. A dented piece of metal suddenly resembles a torso. An old computer monitor becomes a head.
Waddell said he often starts with shapes or colors, then lets the pieces lead him. He has a system for storing his objects and knows where most of them are. But sometimes, he opens a crate of materials and rediscovers something he forgot he had.
He said he is never short on inspiration because he is never short on inventory.
Tools, however, are another story. Those disappear.
A little Frankenstein, a little WALL-E
Josh Waddell is an assemblage artist who creates one-of-a-kind robots and sculptures from rescued, donated and discarded objects at his 3 Bulls Upcycling workshop.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Waddell describes the process with the giddiness of someone who still cannot quite believe he gets to do this.
He compared himself to Dr. Frankenstein, bringing odd creations to life piece by piece.
When he finishes his creation, the feeling is simple.
"It's alive," he said.
There is a little WALL-E in the work, too: one figure alone on a planet of discarded things, trying to make use of what remains. The pieces carry a cyberpunk, dystopian edge, but they are not cold. They are playful, nostalgic and weirdly tender.
That nostalgia is important to Waddell. Part of the joy, he said, is watching people recognize the individual objects in the sculptures.
A parent might spot a part of a film camera, a Sony Walkman or a piece of vintage technology and tell a child, "I used to have one of those."
That kind of recognition adds another layer to the robots. Not just sculptures but little tiny time capsules, made from objects that once had practical lives before being reborn.
Waddell likes the idea that, hundreds of years from now, an archaeologist might discover one of his creations and wonder what purpose it served.
Art for the sake of art
These robots are quirky. They are strange. Waddell doesn't design them to match a couch or disappear quietly into a shelf of knick-knacks.
Waddell knows they are not for everyone. But the people who love them, he said, really love them.
For this exhibition, Waddell said he made the work for the sake of the art itself. The robots in "Rise of the Robots" will have more layers than some of his previous pieces, with more meaning tucked into the materials, poses and personalities.
They are physical, one-of-a-kind objects at a time when art and technology are increasingly intertwined.
Josh Waddell holds up pieces of vintage technology while imagining how the rescued parts might come together in a future robot sculpture.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Waddell joked that his work is art for people who hate AI art, because no prompt can generate the history and weight of the real materials in his studio.
That is the thing about his work: It's tangible, relatable and lived. He invites viewers to look twice.
A broken object becomes a memory. A discarded part becomes a character. A pile of scrap becomes a tiny civilization of oddball machines with souls.
Not bad for a studio full of lost tools, assorted junk and one very happy mad scientist.
A new gallery series begins
"Rise of the Robots" will also launch the Center's new First Impressions gallery series, which provides financial assistance to selected artists as they create new work for the Lyon Gallery.
The Center received a grant to host four artists over the next year. Dozens of artists applied, and judges selected the final four.
Caitlyn Kraemer, managing director of the Center, said the series tangibly supports the area's creative community.
"Bartlesville is blessed with the skills and talents of many gifted artists," Cramer said. "The Center is thrilled to have found a way to support them through the First Impressions Series with initial financial support from the Bartlesville Community Foundation, Lincoln Community Foundation and the Arvest Foundation."
Cramer said Waddell's exhibition is an ideal way to begin the series.
"I can't wait to kick off the series with Josh Waddell in July," she said. "His work resonates with audiences of all ages. His creativity is contagious."
Audiences attending CMT's "Frozen" and the outdoor Sizzlin' Summer Series will also be able to visit the Lyon Gallery during the exhibition's run, giving Waddell's robots plenty of opportunities to meet the public.
