When you’re the young son of anybody in the construction business, you become the one who runs back and forth to the truck for tools, materials or whatever is needed. And you learn to be handy.  Patrick Kenney said his dad was a plasterer. He helped his dad on many jobs.  “When they’re doing things that you can’t do, you can watch,” Kenney said during an interview in his Valencia home. “I watched a lot.”  And young Kenney not only picked up skills, but he also found something he enjoys doing. Today, at 78 years old, tinkering is second nature to him.   About five years ago, he got into making steampunk lamps — pieces of artwork made from waterpipes, light fixtures and themed materials on wood, metal or iron bases, sometimes on waterpipe feet. This work was born out of re-pipe projects he and his wife had done on homes they’ve had over the years.   “When I bought pipe, I bought too much,” Kenney said. “I don’t want to take a second trip to get more. Well, my wife said, ‘Do something with this.’ I went, ‘OK.’ I just started putting pipe together. And then I thought, ‘You know, I need something on it.’ So, I went online and bought these gauges.”  Kenney pointed out pressure gauges on a particular steampunk lamp he’d made, one that he had on display in the backyard of his home. The piece included various pipes, lights, round cast-iron spigot handles and a fire extinguisher. It was the essence of steampunk art, which combines 19th-century industrial steam-powered parts and retro-futuristic technology and aesthetics.   One of Patrick Kenney’s earliest works is this steampunk lamp that utilizes waterpipes, pressure gauges and a fire extinguisher. It’s on display Wednesday morning in the backyard of Kenney’s Valencia home. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal A stroll through Kenney’s house takes guests by many different steampunk creations. Kenney had a lamp he made for the front sitting room that utilized toilet floats to look like steampunk weather balloons. Then there was a Los Angeles Dodgers lamp and another piece for a friend who’d retired from the Air Force. It was Air Force-themed with an Air Force flag and an American flag, Air Force medallions with eagles on them, an Air Force coffee mug and an Air Force shot glass, among other items.  Patrick Kenney utilized toilet floats in this lamp to look like steampunk weather balloons. It’s on display in the living room of his Valencia home. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Kenney had one creation in the garage that he made for himself, which featured a sign that read, “Grandpa’s Workshop: Broken Toys Fixed Here,” and it included screwdrivers, drill bits and other tools.   Making these things is like therapy, Kenney said, and his garage is evidence of that, full of parts and tools and bins of materials. It was like Santa’s toy shop for all of Kenney’s projects.  Patrick Kenney’s garage in his Valencia home is like Santa’s toy shop for all of his projects, full of parts, tools, bins of materials and completed steampunk art. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Kenney grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He worked most of his life as a pharmacist, though he originally had plans of becoming a pediatrician.   “When I was in the service — I got drafted — I was a medic,” he said of his time in the United States Army. “When I got out, I decided I wanted to be a pediatrician. I started working in a pharmacy just because I needed a job. That was in the valley — out in Canoga Park.”  The owner of the pharmacy, Kenney said, was friends with the dean at the University of Southern California school of pharmacy, and he’d suggested that Kenney interview for the program. The idea was that Kenney could get into pharmacy school easily with his experience and knowledge, and after doing that, getting into medical school would be “a breeze.”  Patrick Kenney’s steampunk lamp collection, which he’s been cultivating for over 10 years, is scattered throughout his Valencia home and garage. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “Well, when I got out of pharmacy school,” Kenney said, “it was just, ‘I don’t know if I can go back to school.’”  While at USC, he met the woman who’d become his wife, and even though he had opportunities to go on to medical school to become a pediatrician, he decided against it.   “I just went, ‘There’s no way I’m going to go back to school. I’ll go make some money,’” he said. “We made money, and we’re here.”  Kenney worked in the pharmacy business throughout the remainder of his professional life. He owned pharmacies in the San Fernando Valley, and then, when insurance companies “started to tell me what I was worth,” he said, he found a job as a pharmacist for Kaiser Permanente, work that he did for about 20 years.   Kenney retired a little over 10 years ago. Around that time, he joined the Rotary Club of Santa Clarita Valley. But the pharmacy business was not lost on him, and when he got into creating his steampunk art, he made one piece that currently sits in the entryway of his home.  It’s a steampunk lamp that’s pharmacy-themed. It’s made of pipes and includes little dollhouse shelves filled with tiny old-fashioned pill bottles, miniature pharmacy bibles, a Kleenex box and first-aid items. Mounted on the piece is an actual prescription from literally 100 years ago.   Asked where he found that, he said he came across it some years back when he bought a pharmacy that was going out of business. In one of the drawers, he found the old Rx script.   Patrick Kenney’s collection of steampunk lamps includes an homage to his career as a pharmacist, on display Wednesday morning in the entryway of Kenney’s Valencia home. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “When I built it,” he said, “I put a handful of stuff in there, and I went, ‘It doesn’t look right.’ I kept adding to it and adding to it.”  Many of the items in the piece of art come from internet searches and from places as far away as England.   Kenney enjoys creating his steampunk lamps. He said he’s probably made around 75 creations, some for the Boys and Girls Club, others for Rotary and also for the Elks Club. He’s given lamps and sold some to businesses where they’re on display for customers to see. Ro Ma Jewelers in Valencia and Newhall Escrow Co. in Newhall both have pieces.  And, of course, Kenney has made steampunk lamps for individuals. His daughter wants him to start a website or put the lamps on eBay where he can sell them.   Patrick Kenney’s steampunk lamp collection, which he’s been cultivating for over 10 years, is scattered throughout his Valencia home and garage. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “I said, ‘Well, if you want to do it, do it,’” he said.   For now, though, Kenney sells them by way of word of mouth.  “I sold a lot, and I’ve had a lot of people that I know say, ‘Can you make me one for a golfer,’ or ‘Can you make one for an accountant?’” Kenney said. “I tell them, ‘Just give me a little time, and I can do almost anything.’”  He’s had many people at Rotary ask him for specific ones.  “They get a good price,” Kenney said. “And I give Rotary back some of the money. We had an auction, and we split the money. I’ve got to pay for what I put into it. But the profit I don’t really need.”  Kenney’s wife, Diane Kenney, said her husband has reached his limit of artwork in the house. The place is like a museum, she added, but it’s full.  Patrick Kenney’s garage in his Valencia home is where he creates his steampunk art. This piece he made offers some handyman humor. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “As matter of fact there is no more room,” she said. “He’s also a collector. He collects everything. He gets on a streak, and then he collects it. I’m wondering what plumber we’re going to give all those pipes to.”  Kenney’s wife still works. She, too, has had a career in the pharmacy business. Sometimes she comes home, she said, and finds the dining room table covered with steampunk projects. But she’s come to expect that.  Patrick Kenney’s steampunk lamp collection, which he’s been cultivating for over 10 years, is scattered throughout his Valencia home and garage. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The Kenneys have a grown daughter and two grandchildren. And while Kenney enjoys retired life and being a grandfather, that doesn’t mean he sits around and does nothing. In addition to the steampunk art he makes, he also enjoys doing work around the house. He built their dining room table, one that seats 14 people. The Tommy Bahama one at the store, he said, was just too expensive.  He’s done much work on the homes he and his wife have owned over the years. One of those places he called the money pit after the 1986 Tom Hanks film “The Money Pit,” where a young couple dumps endless amounts of cash and work into a dilapidated old house. But ultimately, Kenney loves it.  In his current house, he laid the tile floor downstairs. Of course, as per his habit, he bought too much tile, he said. He didn’t want to make that second trip to the store to get more.  And the leftovers? Kenney kept it all.  “You never know,” he said. “Some steampunk project may need a little tile.”  Patrick Kenney’s steampunk lamp collection, which he’s been cultivated for over 10 years, is scattered throughout his Valencia home and garage. 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