I seek to create an eclectic mix of seductive, poignant and alchemical pieces made from found objects and things that other people throw away; i.e. treasures from trash.  The scrapyard, the junk pile, thrift-store curiosities and burned-out circuitry set my creativity in motion.  I see beauty within the rust-coated iron I find at abandoned rural dump sites and in the scrap bins of local machine shops.  From the corroded, discarded items of Third-World America; I attempt to mold conceptual, iconographic treasures around surreal, mythological and esoteric themes.  The incorporation of my own photographic works and digital images adds further allure to my pieces.

I see art as perhaps the highest form of evocation.  I therefore seek not only to evoke, manifest and bring life to strange new archetypal forms; but also to reinvigorate older images and symbols so that they too may be seen by new eyes and examined in new ways.

The tools I use range from the dollar-store paint brush to the oxyacetylene torch.  Though planning and discipline form the bedrock of my work, I allow my visions the space they need to take on a life of their own.  My experience tells me that sometimes accidents can achieve better results than careful planning; and that what I allow to happen is often far more interesting than what I want to happen.

The collage art of Kurt Schwitters, the surrealism of Salvador Dalí, the Assemblage art of Michael DeMeng, the mythological beauty in the works of John William Waterhouse along with Dada, Steampunk, Victorian-era wrought-iron, the sacred art of India and China, Byzantine iconography, and post-Apocalyptic imagery in film are some of my more prominent influences.

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Ephraim C. Brown is a conceptual, metal and assemblage artist from the Pacific Northwest. Under the umbrella name of E.C. Brown Anomalies he utilizes a combination rusty scrap metal, found objects, plasma cut metal parts, digital photography and warped sensibilities to create iconic, mesmerizing works and unusual rusty treasures. He believes that there is beauty to be found in the garbage and treasure can be made from trash. Much of his work has underlying philosophical, psychological and post-apocalyptic themes. Loneliness, alienation, and the darker elements of the human condition; along with inspiration and hope in the face of adversity are a few of the concepts and ideas he explores. His intricate, elaborate and disturbing pieces were seen at the 2015 Burning Man festival. A few of his pieces were censored and removed from the Tonasket City Library causing his Distorted Icons exhibit to be excluded from 2015 Tonasket Art Walk. The themes and aesthetics of his work often cause him to butt heads with conventional notions of beauty and taste; along with those who feel that art should be "pretty" and "pleasing to the eye".

His work has been featured in the Horror Zine, Wenatchee World, the Okanogan Valley Gazette Tribune and the Statesman Examiner.  He is also involved in the Tonasket-based metal and fabrication shop Hydemade and the Acavallo Carousel project for Burning Man and beyond; and is the Artistic Coordinator of the Okanogan Family Faire.  Brown believes in the advocacy and promotion of rural American Avant Gard art and culture, as both can be found in the most unlikely places; especially where it is ignored, overlooked or even undermined by small-town power-structures and social mores. He currently lives and works in Okanogan County, Washington.

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