Allen Denault has heard it all before: It can't be done. That doesn't make sense. Why would you do that?

And every time, the co-founder of the region's largest underground art group pays no heed.

"I don't listen to things like that," Denault said. "You find a community of support and that's a whole other art form – collaboration."

Denault and the approximately 50 artists who make up the Horse Cow art collective are putting teamwork to the test once again, seeking a new home for their studios, 20-foot-tall sculptures and loads of material, including bike parts, a rusted wood chipper and chicken wire that would fill five dozen tractor-trailers.

White and fluorescent orange West Sacramento Police Department notices condemn the buildings on the group's current 3-acre spot. And the artists want this third move since 2000 to be their last.

"The whole nomad thing gets old," said Stephan Powidzki, a sculptor who makes art from discarded materials such as window bars, scrap metal and things he finds on Craigslist.

Horse Cow began nine years ago as a haven for unskilled artists – those without formal training – at a site on Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento. Once that building sold in 2005, the group moved to a warehouse at North C and North 16th streets. And when that became too expensive, the group moved to its current home in a cluster of buildings on the banks of the Sacramento River.

The Delta breeze carries off the smell of soldered metal. Two goats, 40 chickens and a feisty turkey wander among the oversized sculptures.

There's a sky blue dinosaur-sized egg next to a giant concrete jug with old farm tools embedded within. A large structure of a black dog with lavender polka dots guards a 36-foot-tall fountain made from two satellite dishes and pallet racking. And a geodesic dome – fashioned from electrical conduits – once contained a hot tub heated by copper coils.

"It's part of our nature," said Denault. "Our basic instinct is to create and be creative."

The need to move again was sparked when an electrical cord rubbed against a metal barrel April 6, setting fire to an outdoor pile of cardboard, metal and aluminum destined for recycling, Denault said.

Although the fire was extinguished in minutes, the West Sacramento Fire Department and building inspectors came calling. The group received a letter listing a litany of violations – shoddy wiring, unlabeled tanks, infractions for zoning and hazardous materials. Plus, no permit had been obtained.

Water and electricity were shut off, buildings condemned. Any improvements are in limbo because of proposed levee work on the site, Denault said.

The plan now is to go legitimate: Get nonprofit status, raise money and find a location that can house studios, a gallery, a venue and classes in such mediums as glass blowing, welding, wood and flame working. The group has to move more than 600 pallets of oversized sculptures by Aug. 1.

"It'll change the kind of art we're making, but it will give us validity," Denault said. "We need a space to do our art."

There is talk of possibly moving into Sacramento's old incinerator property off Richards Boulevard, Denault said. Although any deal is far from sealed, there is a conviction that Horse Cow will live.

"If this place wasn't here, I wouldn't be in town," said Danny Scheible, who calls himself a social sculptor and is never without masking tape, which he transforms into things and critters. "It's the only place here that's been open and warm," Scheible said. "It's like an oasis in the desert."

Call The Bee's Gina Kim, (916) 321-1228.