Click here to see pieces for sale by Jerry Daley  

Jerry was a featured artist at :

 "Where the art meets the Soul" 

Orlando, Florida November 11th and 12th 2000 . 

Charles Gerald (Jerry) Daley was born in March of 1942. Jerry’s father was a soldier. Because he and Jerry’s mom divorced shortly after he returned home, Jerry never had the opportunity to know his dad.  His mother worked in an aircraft factory all during the war.  Jerry had to live with his very elderly grandparents.  Money was non-existent but love was plentiful and granddaddy made wonderful homemade toys. A trait his grandson would soon take up.

Store bought toys were few and far between.  When they did come, they were in the form of model airplane kits, tinker toys, and builder blocks. It was know by his family that from a very early age, Jerry loved making things more than playing with them.

Most of the things he made, he gave to his cousins and friends. He got really good at his craft and dreamed of building real planes. At age 11 he built a huge model airplane using only a Japanese fan, toothpicks, Christmas wrapping paper and an old can of varnish. This creative project garnered his teacher’s admiration and she entered it in the state fair where it earned a blue ribbon.  Now there was no stopping Jerry.  If there was a toy he wanted, he saved and scrounged until he had the materials to make it. He designed and created such things as sling shots, rubberband guns, wagons and pine pole slides -- even a homemade bike. We could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

Grief entered Jerry’s life a second time with the loss of his beloved stepfather.  Although he was only his dad for about four years, he was the only daddy Jerry had ever really known.  His stepdad suffered a lingering and painful case of cancer. His death plunged Jerry’s mom into a deep depression leading to alcoholism.  At age 15 Jerry had to quit school and take a job at the local gas station.  This put an end to his dream of building planes for a living.

The following years, marriage, children and the continued responsibility for his mom put pressure on Jerry to take blue-collar jobs in the construction field.  Even then he would bring home discarded material from the job site,  saving things destined for the landfill. Sometimes he had an immediate use but for the items, but mos0tly they just piled up.  Recycling wasn’t in fashion at that time.  When Jerry had time to relax he was usually involved with some type of craft or artwork.  He has done everything including creating his own fly ties for fly fishing, painting saws, toy making, building model airplanes airbrush, acrylics and leather craft and even building his own custom rock fireplace.

In spite of a rocky childhood, Jerry is a happy, warm hearted, and a fun loving person, who prays for the best but prepares for the worst. Having grandparents who lived through the depression taught Jerry the essence of  “waste not- want not”.   Some, including his family, have teasingly called Jerry everything from a pack rat to scrounger. Jerry laughingly has to agree and even admits to occasionally dumpster diving. He regularly hits the garage sales and flea markets anywhere he might find some “good junk”. He says, “ I just can’t stand the idea of destroying something that could be useful or beautiful if given the chance.”

Jerry’s first experience using compact disk was when he created a set of ornaments for his tree.  “ I was looking for something to brighten up my tree.  I remembered these CDs I had been collecting.  I thought they would be just the thing to pick up the lights from the tree.” He began experimenting with cutting and shaping these iridescent compact disks into ornaments.  Soon friends and family began requesting sets for their trees. Jerry began designing other shapes and forms and adding them to his other “saved objects”.

It was not long before his techno collages and flowerpot boards were making news. All of Jerry’s mixed media sculptures are made of 100 percent recycled or found objects.  They have everything- color, texture, depth and even movement. These happy, joyful creations of flowers and other natural elements were influenced by his appreciation for nature’s beauty and his grandmother’s prized flower garden. It really is true that one man’s trash can be another man's treasure- especially if you let Jerry get a hold of it.

“Making these things is some of the best fun I’ve ever had. I always thought those CD’s were just too pretty to throw away but now I have all these ideas about stuff I can make with them instead of just letting them pile up.  My wife is thrilled I have a use for all my “junk piles” but she’s scared what I’ll bring home next”.

The response to Jerry’s CD art has been terrific. Most of his admirers thought the CD’s that were littering their mailboxes were pretty too, but now they have a beautiful way to enjoy them. We think you will too. 

Click here to see pieces for sale by Jerry Daley