Matt Shiley is pedaling his way back to Lancaster -- at least while his bicycle art is on display at Painted Desert Gallery on North Duke Street.

If you're lucky, you might just find the artist showing off his cycling skills on one of his wonderfully wacky creations, made of old bicycle parts and other bits and pieces from his eclectic collection of "junque."

"Sometimes I joke that my place is like 'Sanford and Son,' and it can start to get that way when I drag too much in," says the 40-year-old Philadelphia artist, who grew up in the Hamilton Park area and graduated from McCaskey High School in 1988.

Some might refer to Shiley's art as recyling, but he likes to use the term "reusing." He finds the potential in trash by using old typewriters and bike parts to make chairs, fire extinguishers to make bells, wooden pallets to make garden furniture, gas stove grills as ornaments on railings, old joists as shelving, radiators as steps in a garden and bird cages as hanging fruit baskets.

"It makes me sad how much waste our society generates," says Shiley. "I've used the underside of a toilet tank lid as a base to a sculpture, with worn-out windshield wipers as part of it. Old bullet casings, light bulbs, wiring, circuit boards, broken toys, old film, prescription bottles, Barbie dolls -- they've all found their way into my work."

Shiley might be seen as an artist, or perhaps as a builder. He thinks the difference is that a builder makes things that are functional in daily living, while an artist makes things that function as a vehicle to convey thoughts, feelings, concepts and notions that aren't otherwise easily communicated. He is most clearly both.

"The real beauty is when other folks get some kind of message, vibe, understanding or even offense from art. It's just good if something is being stirred deep inside us," says Shiley. "Putting together a piece is like making a home for purposeless little things I'm attracted to."

His whimsical contraptions might stir a chuckle, full-blown laughter, an amused smile or perhaps an incredulous stare. What the heck is that thing?

A self-taught artist, Shiley lists his influences as rust, weathered surfaces, graffiti, layered street posters, dilapidated buildings, punk rock, skateboard art and bicycles.

"The cool thing with functional art is you get to physically interact with it. It's not just on the wall," says Shiley.

That's the idea behind "Beyond the Second Dimension: A Sculpture and Installation Project," which features the artwork of Shiley, as well as Heather Heilman Loercher's found-object sculptures, Brent W. Collins' sculptures and drip paintings and Jennifer Blaisdell's photography and video installations.

"For nearly 10 years, found-object

assemblage and sculpture have been the sole focus of my artwork," says Loercher, who shares Shiley's fondness for transforming items such as wooden shoe forms, metal colanders, weathered scraps of wood, meat grinders and rusty springs into innovative artistic constructions.

Although Painted Desert Gallery was conceived nearly a year ago by Carol Emerson, Rose Principe and A.J. Nutter, three artists and friends who wanted to bring an appreciation for southwestern art to Lancaster, they have expanded their focus.

Now local and regional artists are taking visitors to new heights and new destinations in contemporary art, just off the beaten trail.

"Beyond the Second Dimension"

Heather Heilman Loercher

Matt Shiley, Brent W. Collins

and Jennifer Blaisdell

Cont. through July. Free

Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. noon-5 p.m.

Painted Desert Gallery

227 N. Duke St.

 www.painteddesertgallery.com.