The final touches of an art project are looking to be made in the next few weeks, and the project to be shared with the community at large.
Roxy Patton explained that the project, known as the Desert Phantom, was inspired by her and her father’s favorite movie, “The Great Race.” The film focuses on people racing different contraptions around the world in the 1920s.
“It was just a whimsical movie that we started to envision creating our own vehicle,” Roxy said.
The Phantom was never intended for common transportation use, but rather envisioned as stationary or permitted mobile art for events such as parades, weddings, and festivals—ideally in the Southwest, which inspired its name.
Roxy noted the project was one she worked in tandem with her dad, Dennis, in his shop, at the same time he was doing the Solar System statues in uptown Mount Vernon.
“The Phantom taught me as a child, not only how to weld, but also how to literally make dreams into reality,” Roxy said. “We loved to imagine driving it all around the world. I dreamed of driving away from my wedding in it. Dad dreamed of driving it through the canyon lands. We called it “stationary travel” as we sat in its unfinished frame day dreaming. Therefore, I also learned the gratification of dreams that can’t happen in reality but can always be possible in the imagination.”
She and her dad would tackle portions of the piece when they had the opportunity with other projects that Dennis was working on.
“We built the Desert Phantom out of leftover parts from other projects, or from things we could salvage at a salvage yard,” Roxy said.
The project’s primary construction happened over the course of two or three years.
When Dennis moved away from Iowa, Roxy had the vehicle stored at a friend’s location. She moved out of state for a while herself, and returned to the state in 2020 during the COVID pandemic to help care for her mom. When she returned to the area, she discovered the piece was not at the family friend’s location, which has spawned a year long process in getting the piece back to Mount Vernon (more in a coming issue of the Sun on that part of the story).
In recent months, Roxy has worked up a plan to put the finishing touches of this sculpture together, working to get it ready for possible permanent display in the community.
“It’s something that may never get to drive in the desert, but it’s something that I hope people will enjoy as much as my dad and I had while making it,” Roxy said.
