GULF SHORES, Ala. — The miniature clearings and glens can hold the most surprising things. Created by Jeremy West of Gulf Shores, the sculptures combine natural and manmade materials such as a mirror to simulate a pond or a statuette of a pop character to add humor.

You can find a Star Wars Storm Trooper in one of West’s sculptures. Some have food warmer-type candles embedded in them to add to the mystique.

“You get some interesting effects when the candles are lit,” West said, seated in the Gulf Shores duplex owned by his family. “They cast shadows on the wall. Every piece is different from the next.”

In 2006, West began to fall ill.

“I was going about my normal life, and I would have excruciating headaches,” said West.

The headaches became worse, and doctors diagnosed a brain tumor. It was a type of astrocytoma, and was slow-growing.

“The doctor told me I might have had it since I was born,” said West.

Surgery was able to remove most of the tumor, and chemotherapy and radiation have controlled it since. When he takes his hat off, the scars from surgery are still visible. He has to hunt for words.

“Ever since then (treatment), I have been doing music and art,” said West. He writes music primarily for his own enjoyment, and none of it has been published as yet.

“I was a loner in high school,” he said, adding his grades were not always the best. He wonders if the slow-growing tumor was responsible for some of that.

He said his parents, Gary and Debbie West of Foley have been “very supportive” of his artistic ambitions. Gary is also an artist, while he describes his mother as being “into crafts.” His sister, Kelly, is an artist living in Montana.

Aside from his sculptures, West uses acrylics and spray paint to create other art and places a number of found items in his work. For example, he uses driftwood found on area beaches in the sculptures he creates.

His fanciful flowers are fashioned from discarded aluminum cans. Mounted onto wire stems, the flowers shine and show the colors imprinted on their surfaces.

“Those are probably some of the best-selling pieces,” said West. He tells of being at a fair or festival, where a young girl was so taken with the flowers that he presented her with one when her mother told her she could not buy one.

“It makes me happy to give something to somebody,” said West.

West is not able to hold a traditional full-time job. He works with his father painting houses a few days a week.

“Dad watches over me,” he said, adding that he has had seizures while working.

West sells his art at festivals and fairs. He had space in a gallery, but lost it when he had to pull his sculptures out for a fair. He is hoping to find a photographer who can take pictures of his work so he can put them on a Web page.

While the task of recovering from any brain injury is daunting, West says he is, “strangely positive.”

“The toughest thing is coming back to normal, to the world. But, I have a good outlook.”