Ammo Art

John Ton, owner of the new , which opened this month in downtown Petaluma, frequently visits firing ranges.What attracts him is not the guns--he doesn't own one--but the shell casings they leave behind, which Ton then turns to mosaics of birds, people and landscapes.

Like much of inspiration, Ton stumbled on it, literally. While hiking in the Nevada desert, he found trash left by gun enthusiasts from target practice-- beer cans, old refrigerators, mannequins and cars.  He was disgusted with the littering, but intrigued by the leftover shell casings. He liked the color, pattern and variety of casings.

So he started collecting them.

Ton, who is also an accomplished muralist whose works can be found in San Francisco's Mission District and along the ocean bike path in Pacific Grove, searched online to see if other artists were using shell casings.

He found that no one was doing what he envisioned: mounting the casings on boards to create mosaic images, an art form he terms ammosaics.  

"I wanted to create images that would provide a counterpoint to the violent ejaculation of bullets that are often associated with hunting, war, target practice and so on," says Ton. 

"I try to find unexpected images that lend themselves to this medium." His work Terns, showing the shilouette of graceful birds in flight done entirely out shell casings, is one such example.

Ton claims he's neither pro nor anti guns. "I used to own guns but I don't any more.  Having a gun in my closet created a bad vibe, like having a person in the room that you don't want to be there."

Regardless, Ton hopes people will see the beauty of the textures and patinas of the material he has chosen. His work, Patience, was recently selected as part of traveling exhibit called Wounded in Action that is headed for the United Nations.

Ton began as a sign painter and is best known for the murals he creates for private and public installations such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Ton's studio is located in the back of a storefront space located at 356 Petaluma Blvd. North. "Some of my friends told me the front of the place looked abandoned so I cleaned it up." Ton installed a few lights and hung his work on the wall. In addition to Ton's work is that of his daughter, Sarah Ton, and artists Roberta Ahrens and Robert Nelson.

Ton will be the first to tell you that it's not a traditional gallery.  "I travel a lot so I'm not keeping regular hours.  It's an appointment-only thing for now."

However, Tom is eager to turn the space into a place for emerging artists to show their work.  "I would love it to become a venue where people could meet and exchange ideas, maybe even play a little music."

For now, however, the future of the gallery is uncertain, due to a very short lease on the space. You can see Ton's ammosaics on his website or by setting up an appointment to visit Clear Heart Gallery.