BELFAST—If you go to the Belfast Free Library in the Teen Room on the second floor, you'll find some sculptures that reflect gothic sensibility, childlike whimsy, and offbeat humor.

They are the creations of 16-year-old artist Tylor Cumler, a sophomore at Belfast Area High School, and the same could be said about him. His works of art could be out of a Tim Burton movie, reflecting rickety, spooky houses, steampunk creatures made from gears, bits, and bobs, and even a giant orange suspended peach reminiscent of James and the Giant Peach.

I first encountered his art at Opera House Video in Belfast around Halloween. He had created a replication of Jack Skeleton's house in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

"I like to make a lot of things from movies, like the house from the movie Up,'" he explained.

Tylor explained his process.

"I use mostly cardboard and hot glue and acrylic paints," he said. "Sometimes I just create things from my mind—just jump into it without much of a plan. I think, 'Hey, that would be a good idea for a building.' Then, I'll do a rough sketch, until then it evolves into the final product."

For other works, he has been inspired by what he browses online, such as a house he created with chicken feet.

"It's based on this Russian folktale about this witch Baba Yaga, who lives in a house that's on giant chicken feet and she eats misbehaved children," he said.

Most of his houses have the same gothic aesthetic; some sag in the middle, while others look like they could be set props in Salem's Lot.

He started crafting when he was very young.

"I've always been a creative character," he said. "I think I first started creating things after playing video games. And then, I just started to do a lot of paper craft and moved onto cardboard, making things sturdier and sturdier."

The way most of us see functional objects, such as the cap off a soda bottle, Tylor sees as potential materials for what he may make next. Some of the steampunk sculptures consist of empty Chapstick tubes or a small toy from a Kinder Egg, for example.

He showed me little cardboard ROVs (Remotely Underwater Operated Vehicles) he'd made after watching a documentary exploring the sinking of the Titanic.

"They're these little robotic submarine cameras that float through the water," he said. "Their names are Jake and Elwood."

Also inspired by ghost stories and literature. I asked him about the James and the Giant Peach sculpture that first found a home at Opera House Video before moving to the Belfast Free Library.

"You look a little younger in this picture," I said.

"Actually, that's my stunt double," he quipped.

"Is that you, or no?"

"That is, okay?"

In addition to being left-of-center, he's got a subversive sense of humor, which is not surprising.

"I'm also inspired by other YouTube crafters who make art out of junk and have my own YouTube channel," he said. "I haven't dug into the rabbit hole of TikTok yet, but YouTube is where a lot of the creators I like are."

"I feel like a 76-year-old Englishman," he said. "I picked that up from a crafting YouTuber."

His room is crowded with sculptures, he told me. He often gives the smaller ones away to friends. And, as he's already showing his work at the library and at local businesses, he is interested in putting together his first art show.

"Both my mom and dad have had art shows, and I feel like I should do one, too," he said.

Check out his work at the library up through the end of February.

Hail To The Rad Kids is an ongoing feature highlighting teens in the Midcoast with a special talent.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com