Editor's note: Professional photos of Richard Delbridge's home and artwork can be viewed at http://www.johnthomasphotography.net/delbridge2/8132009.html
COLE -- Richard Delbridge can't stand to see good materials go to waste. He finds stuff on remodeling jobs. Friends call him. Landfills and dumpsters aren't off limits either.
He hoards cans, bottles, wire, utility poles, plumbing fixtures, ceramic tile, doors, windows and satellite dishes.
Throw in the kitchen sink. He'll take that, too. If it's trash to you, more than likely Delbridge can find a place for it. With apologies to country artists Barbara Mandrell and George Jones, Delbridge was green before green was cool.
"I can use that," is a common expression for Delbridge, a 57-year-old artist and tile setter. "We'll pull over on the way home for a brick in the road."
That unique home is Exhibit A in Delbridge's decades-long quest to complete and add on to his 3,600 square feet of homemade happiness in the western McClain County community of Cole. The homesite is part of a former artists colony called "Forgotten Meadows."
"It's at least three-fourths made of recycled materials," he said on a tour this past week. "I like cheap materials that I can spend a lot of time on."
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Delbridge didn't set out to be a recycler. He graduated from Norman High in 1970, had a leather shop near the campus for many years and is a respected artist. A friend once told him anybody that could make a purse could make a house.
That three-level house has evolved and grown, mostly with items salvaged from remodeling jobs or tossed by builders. One of his shower skylights was once a friend's BMW motorcycle windshield. A granite countertop from a remodel job makes for a new step.
Used carpet recycled from the public library helps insulate the roof along with motorcycle packing crate material. His latest add-on to the house is a compost toilet, a British-designed, two-holer no less.
Delbridge moved to the country so that he could build what he wanted, when he wanted with whatever material he could find. There are no building codes and nosy inspectors.
"That's the main reason I came out here. But I like people. About half a dozen people a month stop for a tour."
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Visitors generally have to know where they're going. The home is tucked into the woods somewhere between the hay bales and the red dirt and trees west and south of the community of Cole off of State Highway 74B.
"You ask anyone from the man on the street to the county commissioner where 'Hippieville' is and they'll point you out here," Delbridge jokes.
He hopes to inspire the younger generation to recycle more materials and be creative in their approach to building.
"An astonishing amount of material gets thrown away every year. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we waste too much stuff. It's unconscionable, really."
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It's not a rocket but the fuselage of a jet fighter faces the home's front door. His son, Bryce, really wanted that plane hauled over there. A fire pole lets kids -- and adults -- descend from the top floor. Rainwater collects in various basins. One holds goldfish. Another was for cooling off.
"This is really kid central. Every kid that has ever been here wants to stay," he said.
A family of rabbits left him with a rich-soiled garden. He draws inspiration from noted architects Bruce Goff and Antoni Gaudi and artist Eugene Bavinger.
"There's a lot of us back-to-the landers out here," he said. "We just can't seem to throw stuff away."
Andy Rieger 366-3543 editor@normantranscript.com
