One can imagine metal sculpture artist, Phillip Glashoff, waking up in the morning and enjoying the smell of fresh brewed coffee… and rust in the air. For 6 months of the year, Phillip and his wife Jan live on their Suisun Valley ranch, and the other 6 months at their home on Maui. Phillip creates scrap metal sculptures ranging in size from 14 inches to 14 feet. Jan, a master gardener, cultivates lovely decorative plants and manages the day-to-day business of the Glashoff Collection. With its combination of fanciful metal sculpture and artistic garden charm, the ranch has a magical atmosphere about it.
Phillip has been creating metal art at their ranch near Fairfield for over 40 years. He has an acre of neatly piled rusting iron there. The scrap is his source material for all sorts of whimsical sculptures. It has been collected over the years from thrift shops and scrap piles to anonymous donations that just show up at his front gate.
Phillip’s grandfather purchased the ranch land in the 1940s and grew fruit and nuts. Eventually it passed on to Phillip and his brother Larry. These days it is difficult for a small family farm to compete with the large corporate growers, so the land is no longer farmed. Instead, it has become Phillip’s workshop and showplace for over 400 pieces of sculpture
Phillip donates some of his work to charitable organizations. He is currently working on a project for Armijo High School, and one for the City of Fairfield. The city plans to install up to twelve of his pieces along key thoroughfares. He has also crafted many whimsical mailboxes along Williams, Suisun Valley, and Rockville roads. Though visits to the ranch are by appointment only, a drive along these streets to see the delightful mailboxes, combined with dining at Mankas Corners, a visit to Larry’s Produce for fresh fruits and vegetables, and/or wine tasting at the four nearby wineries could make for an enjoyable outing with family or friends.